Doctor Patient Confidentiality
by KaylaMiller
Summary: He's on a downwards spiral, falling fast. He pours himself into work to numb the pain, doing so he meets Kate, a cardiac patient. Maybe they can fix each other? -AU JATE
1. Prologue

Jack Shephard was a spinal surgeon at St. Sebastian hospital in Los Angeles His father was the chief of surgery there, which ultimately puts an enormous amount of pressure of Jack at work, and really everywhere else, he couldn't remember the last time his dad just talked to him, or listened without it being about a patient or a conference. Since he was a child he was told that he didn't have what it takes, eventually his father molded him into exactly what he wanted, without considering that it might not be what Jack wanted, his life, his career, his relationships and most importantly who he was, was everything his father wanted him to be, wanted any son of his to be. It wasn't at all who Jack wanted to be. He didn't want any of it, but not getting the chance to explore and really figure out who he was, what he really wanted, he just figured he could do worse than becoming his father right?

Jack met Sarah one day when she came rushing into the hospital from a horrible car accident, they'd figured out that she would most likely never walk again, she'd be paralyzed. On the day of her surgery Jack made her a promise, he promised he'd fix her, and he did. Then he married her. Months into their marriage things started to tumble downwards, they stopped communicating and he was somehow reminded of his parents, this is how they started, he could remember the diners where no one talked and it was so quiet you could hear everyone chewing, he hated those diners. Now that was him and Sarah. He soon found out that Sarah had been having an affair and she left him for this other man. So once again, he was lead to believe that he didn't have what it takes.

It's been about a year now since his marriage fell apart, he didn't date after that, he simply threw himself into work, he buried his pain with cases and patients so that he'd never have to deal with it, but he figured out fast that you can't erase pain by avoiding the situation that's causing it. He became angry and unmotivated, and like his father drinking was his way of numbing the pain, and the guilt. He was alone, and the only thing people were going to remember him for was work, he wasn't special, people weren't going to miss him, those were things that crossed his mind every day.

Now he was 34 years old and he didn't have to wonder anymore, he didn't ask himself who he was, because now, he knew exactly who he was becoming, his father. He hated that.

He was making his rounds at the hospital; he took a double shift despite the nurses trying to get him to go home and rest. Walking down the hallway to a patient's door, he was stopped by a voice behind him calling his name

"Jack"

He stopped and turned around to see his friend and co-worker Mark. Mark has been Jack's best friend since they were 10, They were the bullied , well to tell the truth it was mostly Mark, but Jack always fought back for him, they'd made a packed to always have each other's backs, and they always did. Mark was also the one single thing in Jack's life that _he_ choose, his father never approved and maybe that's why he did it, but either way it carved a great friendship.

"Hey Mark, what's up?" Jack asked turning around

"Listen man, I need to ask you a really big favor" He started "Marie is waiting for me, at the caterers, I'm supposed to be there already" He was talking so fast he's words were jumbled together

Jack put a hand on his friends shoulder, calming him down "Relax man, what do you need from me?"

Mark gave him his best pleading look , Jack shook his head "No way man, I'm not coming with this time, I helped with the ring, you're on your own with the cake" He said chuckling at the memory of the two of them looking for a ring, that was fun two guys shopping for wedding rings

Mark shook his head laughing along knowing what he meant, than in a second went back to panic mood "No, I just really need to get going, and I have to check in on a patient"

Jack nodded realizing what he was trying to ask him "And you want me, to check up on them for you"

Mark smiled "If you could, I'd really appreciate it man" He told him, his eyes pleading

Returning the smile, Jack gave him a nod "Yeah, no problem Mark"

Patting him on the shoulder as thanks, he turned to leave "Oh Jack, the file is on my desk in the office"

He simply nodded, moistening towards the elevator "Okay, don't worry"

Pressing the elevator button, and walking inside when the doors opened, thinking of something else to tell Jack, he stopped the doors as they were closing with his hands "Jack, Her name is Kate Austen, She's on the cardiac floor, room 815"

The doctor nodded, chuckling as he replied "Mark, I got this, get out of here, go pick your wedding cake man"

Nodding he got back in the elevator and was off to meet his soon to be wife, as for Jack he was off to Mark's office to get this _Kate Austen's_ file.

**So what do you think?** **I got the idea last night when i was watching Seven Pounds.**


	2. They Sent a Cute One!

**Thanks for the reviews, & thank you Lizi for your help in this one :)**

Jack stumbled into Mark's office, seeing the file on his desk he grabbed it up and walked off to room 815, he didn't read through the file, this was just a check up after all, it would quick and simple.

Opening the door slowly, making sure the patient wasn't asleep, when he knew she wasn't, he addressed her "How are you tonight Ms. Austen?" he asked

"I'm okay" She replied, Jack looked up and for the first time he got a real view of her, he was taken back at her age, she was young couldn't be much younger than him, he felt his heart sink when he realized she was in the cardiac wing, this was the part of his job that he hated, she was probably young and healthy and than all the sudden she has a heart condition. Looking up at her again this time he smiled, she was beautiful. She had sea green eyes and brown curly hair that fell past her shoulders, the lamp next to her shined just the right angle for him to see that she also had freckles.

He was brought out his gaze by her voice "You're not Dr. Silverman?" She stated blankly

The doctor chuckled "No, I'm not, He had something come up, so I'm helping him out tonight"

Kate nodded "Well at least they sent me a cute one this time" She winked playfully at him

He simply laughed and replied "Okay let's check you out"

"Oh let's" She said laughing along with her words

Dr. Shephard just shook his head and walked over to examine her

Bringing his fingers up to her neck to check her pulse "Have you been feeling okay?" He asked

The brunette nodded

"Any pain, trouble breathing?" He asked again, he got the feeling that she would be one of those patients that wouldn't tell you anyways, they'd make you figure it out

"Nope, I feel fine" She replied with a smile

Wanting to change the subject back to the doctor she asked "So…Dr. Shephard, I haven't seen you here before?"

Jack raised his eyebrows "How did yo." He started, he hadn't told her his name, seeing her look at the left side of his jacket, and he covered his name with his hand and laughed, blushing a little

"I'm a spinal surgeon" He told her

"Oh, I see" She said smiling "So what makes a spinal surgeon cover for a cardiac patient?"

Jack ran a hand through his hair "I told you, Dr. Silverman had something to take care of"

Kate shrugged "That's all am going to get huh?

The doctor laughed "He's getting married"

Kate nodded again, looking down at his hands "So what about you Dr, Shephard are you married?"

Jack gave her an embarrassed smile "No, I'm not"

"You can't be single?" She said not having an of it

He laughed and opened her chart "I can be, I am" He said

Running a hand through his hair, was this getting out of hand? Should he be answering these questions, He wasn't sure but he liked talking to her

She was staring at him now, he felt shivers go down his body, he felt like she was staring him down, like his defenses were falling down

Clearing his throat "Umm, so looking at your file, you have Cardionyopathy" He swallowed hard as he said it out loud "When did you find out?"

"Almost 2 years ago" She said with a smile that was sad unlike the bright one he'd received walking into the room

"I'm sorry" He returned her sad smile, and her head went down to look at the sheets

Checking her heart beat and her blood pressure, once he was sure she was okay he closed the file "Well looks like you're doing okay" He told her sweetly

"Told you" She gave him another one of those smiles that made him realize that sure she was okay now, but really she wasn't _okay _

"Okay, I better get going" He said walking slowly towards the door

"Wait" She called out "I don't know your name" She smiled

Smiling at her, he went back and forth in his head, Dr. Shephard knew that it wasn't professional but Jack wanted to tell her, so for once in his life he let Jack win "I'm Jack"

"I'm Kate, but you already know that right" She laughed pushing a strand of hair out of her hair

"Goodnight Jack" She said, he walked out of the room smiling, he liked the way his name sounded on his lips

* * *

Jack finished the rest of his own rounds and deciding that it would be useless to go all the way home, go to sleep for a few hours and drive all the way back to the hospital, he just walked towards the on call room instead. Getting in the room, glad to see that no one else there, walking over to the bed and stripping off his coat, untucking his scrub shirt he laid down on the bed.

Putting his hands behind his head, he closed his eyes, fumbling with the sheets on the beds he couldn't seem to get comfortable. His mind was drifting to Kate, she was this bright shining person, at first glance you'd never think that she had this horrible thing happening inside her. He barely knew Kate, in fact he didn't really know her out all but something inside him, wanted to help her.

Running a hand over his face, he would find a way to help her, in the morning when Mark's shift started he'd talk to him, but right now he needed to stop thinking about her, right now he needed sleep.

* * *

Jack woke up the next morning to his pager beeping, picking it up he grabbed his lab coat and headed out the door. He met Mark in the main lobby

"Hey, you paged me?" He asked

"Yeah, I was just wondering how everything went last night?" The other doctor asked

Smiling when he's mind drifted to Kate he replied "Good, how about you, everything go alright with the caterers?" he asked changing the subject

"Yeah, you know I don't understand why it's so important what we serve everybody, they're all going to be too drunk to care what they eat"

Jack laughed "That bad huh?"

"Oh man, before last night I had no idea their was so many ways you can cook a potato"

Patting him on the shoulder "Well at least you learned something right" He laughed

"So about last night, Austen was doing alright?" He asked getting back to the original reason for paging his friend

"Yeah, Ka" He stopped himself " was fine, everything's normal"

Mark nodded "You didn't tell me so was so young" Jack added

Mark raised his eyebrows "Why does it matter?"

Shaking his head "It doesn't, it's just horrible that's all"

Nodding once again his friend added "She's a firecracker huh?"

Dr. Shephard laughed "Yeah, she is" Smiling as he remembered her shameless flirting the night before

"Listen I was hoping you could cover me again tonight, Marie's parents are coming, we're supposed to pick them up"

Enjoying the fact of seeing her again he nodded "Sure, man"

"Listen Mark, I wanted to ask you about her case" He shuddered

"What do you want to know?" He asked confused

Jack shrugged his shoulders "Just what are her options with this thing?"

"Why you so interested in this case Jack?" He friend asked suspiciously

Looking away rubbing the back of his neck "I was just wondering, that's all"

Mark nodded "She has Ischemic Cardionyopathy, her heart muscles..." He started before Jack cut him off

"Become inflamed causing them not to work as well as they need to, I know all that, I'm asking about what we've done to prevent it from getting any worse?"

"When she was brought in her condition was too advanced for us to simply put a pacemaker or a defibrillator but she isn't in bad enough shape to be put on the donor list" He answered honestly

Jack stuck his hands in front of him, holding him up against the head desk, taking a big breath and letting it out "So what, she has to get worse to be put on the list?" He breathed out angrily "What if by that time it's too late?"

gave his friend a sad look "There's nothing we can do Jack"

Jack nodded, grabbing his first patients chart for today, and made his way over to their room. He didn't know why he cared so much, he just knew that he did, and he had to find a way to help her.

**Hit the button to let me know what you think!**


	3. Promise Me?

**Sorry for the wait with this chapter, wanted to finish up my other fic, anyways here it is, Hope you guys like it!**

Finishing up with his own patients as fast as he could, he made his way to room 815, to see how Kate was doing tonight. Walking he saw that her eyes were slowly closing than fluttering open, as if she was trying to stay awake for something, fighting the tiredness with everything she had

"Miss Austen, can I come in?" He asked politely before opening the door completely

Recognizing the voice from the night before she smiled "Come in Dr. Shephard"

Jack walked into the room, getting a full view of her he couldn't help but smile at the innocence she had sitting in that hospital bed "Hey"

Kate smiled at him "Are you lost Dr. Shephard?" She asked raising her eyebrows at him

The gorgeous doctor chuckled "I am not, I'm covering again"

"Wow, Dr. Silver must one hell of a friend for you to cover for him once again" She teased

Getting another chuckled out of the doctor "Like I said he's getting married, a wedding's a long thing to plan" He replied

"So does that mean, I'll get to see my favorite spinal surgeon tomorrow too?" She asked in a slightly flirtatious tone

Running his hand through his hair, feeling a little awkward "Well that depends, would you like me to suggest another doctor" He decided to play along

Kate smiled at him, making his knees week "Nah, I think I like this one" She told him, making him smile

"But I have a condition" she added "You know if you're going to be coming to check on me more often"

Jack laughed, looking at her chart for today "Oh yeah, what's that?" He asked while he walked over and check her heartbeat

"You have to promise not to fall in love with me" She said suddenly not sounding like she usually flirty self, but instead she sounded serious

Jack couldn't catch the laugh that came out of his mouth, pulling his hand back from her chest "I don't think that will be a problem" He said writing something down

"It looks like you're doing well tonight, you're blood pressures a little high, but nothing to worry too much about" He said changing the subject

Kate nodded "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

Jack gave her a quick grin "I will see you tomorrow" He said before making his way to the door, she spoke stopping him leaving just yet

"You still didn't promise Dr. Shephard" She said quietly

He gave her a confused look, and she laughed not believing he'd forgotten already "Not to fall in love with me" She added, seeing his face get softer

"I promise not to fall in love with you" He added before exiting the room once and for all

Walking down the hall, repeating the conversations he'd just had in his head, he wondered if he should make promises, when he wasn't certain he could keep it. Laughing at the thought, no he was sure he could keep this one.

* * *

The next day Jack walked into work, catching his friend standing at the front desk, walking over to him, seeing he was on the phone, he waited until he was done to talk

"Hey man" Jack asked

Mark smiled "Jack, hey" He relied "Everything go okay last night?"

"Yeah, Austen's blood pressure was a little high, you might want to watch that" He told his fellow doctor

Mark gave him an understanding nod "So nothing interesting than?"

Jack smiled "You mean except for the part, where your patient made me promise not to fall in love with her" He laughed

His friend's laughter soon joined his "That must have been Kate"

Jack nodded still giggling "How'd you know?"

"She made me promise the same thing" He told Jack

"You've got to be kidding me" He said

Shaking his head "She says that she doesn't have enough time to fall in love"

"Well I better go check on her now, see how she's doing?" Mark said

Jack blinked "Mark, listen I'll check on her for you"

Mark was taken back, giving his friend a questioning glare "Why would you do that, am here today"

Jack shrugged, playing it under the radar "I just thought I could help you out, you could get out of here, spend some time with your fiancée"

"What about you, you want to spend all day in this hospital?" Mark asked questioning Jack's reasoning

Looking down "I don't have anyone waiting for me at home" he said sincerely

Mark feeling slightly bad now, nodded "Alright, thanks man"

Jack smiled walking away from his friend to get to work, knowing that he was kind of over-stepping but somehow not caring, thinking about what he said about Kate. It was sad that someone like her thought that way about love.

* * *

Jack walked into Kate's room, and stumbled back when he saw her, she wasn't the girl he'd seen the past two days she was somewhat lifeless, compared to the vibrant person she usually was. She was sweating, she had her eyes closed, but from the moans escaping her lips he could tell she wasn't asleep and obviously was in a great deal of pain.

"Are you okay?" He asked walking, feeling like an idiot, knowing that she wasn't

Kate nodded despite the pain; Jack decided not to push the questions on her just yet, so he just waited till she was well enough to talk to him

"What do I owe the pleasure Dr. Shephard?" She asked once she felt a little better

Jack smiled "Just coming to see how you're doing, which is not very well it looks like"

Kate looked down at herself, and decided the subject needed to have some light shed on it "Well I guess I should be happy, now I know you'll never fall in love with me" She joked

Jack looked at her, she looked tired, drained and the sweat made her skin look sticky, her hair was messy and looked like it hadn't been combed in weeks, but somehow those green eyes stood out and made all that seem to disappear, the handsome doctor shook his head "You look great"

She smiled at him blushing, which he returned clearing his throat "Ummm, so are you feeling okay, I mean besides the obvious" He asked wanting more than anything to change the subject

"Yes, Doctor I'm doing fine" She told him "You know what would make me feel a lot better" She asked a hint of a child like tone in her voice

"What's that?" He asked

"Fresh air" She replied "I really want to go outside"

Jack chuckled "Outside? That would make you feel better" He asked confused to why she just wouldn't wish she had a good functioning heart, nope she just wanted to go outside

"Yeah, I miss the trees, I've been in here a while now, and I miss trees, and picnics" She told him dreamily

Jack couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face, something that happen a lot lightly in the last two days "A picnic huh?" He said "I like picnics"

She gave him a shy smile, looking down at her hands before her head seemed to pop up as if she had an idea "Can you take me outside?"

He breathed in a sharp breath "I…I don't know if that's the best idea" He said seeing that she wasn't in the most stable state

"Why not, I'd be with my doctor" She winked at him, he seemed to be thinking about it so she pressed "Please Jack" She said sweetly

Jack looked at her, eyes catching and holding each other's there for a minute, Jack couldn't but feel uneasy about the way his name sound coming from her, it was slightly unprofessional and he knew it may be inappropriate but part of him liked the way it sounded on her lips, finally looking away

"Well, technically I'm not your doctor" He laughed, she laughed along but he could hear a disappointment in her voice instead of the hopefulness she had a few minutes ago

"But let me see what I can do, and maybe tomorrow we can take you to get some fresh air" He added

She brought her head, back up and smiled at him, her eyes bright and full if life. He smiled back before exiting the door, leaning up against it once he knew he was closed and she wouldn't hear

"Oh Jack, what have you gotten yourself into" He mumbled

**Let me know what you think?**

**Next Chapter: A guys night & maybe some fresh air ;)**


	4. A Pair Of Nines

Tonight was the last Sunday of the month, which meant that all the guys got together, had a few beers and played poker. Jack never really understood why they choose Sunday to do this, considering they would all have to get up, with or without a hangover and go to work the next, but it was like tradition so they didn't question it.

They were all sitting around the table at Jack's place, bottle of beer in their hand, cards in the other, as the night went on, his friends shot him questioning looks, to which he just smiled

"Okay Jack-O, you've been way to happy tonight, you finally getting something?" Sawyer asked in a smug tone

Jack chuckled "I don't know what you're talking about man" He stated calmly

"I think I have an idea" Mark said faking a cough to cover it up, a very poor attempt

Sawyer gave Jack a smirk and looked over at Mark "Do tell"

"I have this patient" Mark said "Kate" looking over smiling at Jack

Jack shook his head "Mark, Shut up man", he said his tone threatening as he took a swing of his beer

"Who's Kate?" Hurley asked

Mark looked at Jack, than back at the rest of the guys at the table "Kate, is a patient of mine, Jack has been covering her case for me for a few days" He said

Once Jack thought he was safe, his friend added "She's also young and beautiful, brown hair, bright green eyes, and freckles" he finished

"So Doc what's going on with you and Freckles?" Sawyer asked dealing another hand

Jack chuckled, shaking his head "There's nothing going on, She's a good person…I want to help her" He told them

"Jack, Come on, we all know when you want to help someone, and you jump in head first" Mark said patting his friend on the back "Like you did with Sarah"

Taking a long drink of his beer before answering "That's not what I'm doing Mark"

"Than what are you doing Jack, because it looks like Sarah all over again from my end" Mark asked, he wasn't trying to hurt him, but I felt like he had to get through to him

"I told you man, she's a good person and I want to help her, maybe there's something I can do" Jack shrugged

"Okay, but what if you can't Jack, what if there just isn't anything you can do?" Mark asked him seriously

Thinking about it for a while , what if he couldn't help her, what if this was a mistake waiting to happen "Well than at least I can say that I tried" He said

They dropped the subject after that; Sawyer thought the topic got a little too serious for poker night. They played a few rounds when Jack starting thinking about his last conversation with Kate, he didn't really want to bring it up and get grilled again but he promised her he'd try and he wouldn't break his promise.

"Mark, listen I need to ask you something about Kate" Jack trialed

Sawyer grinned "Yeah, Jack-o you aint into her at all"

Ignoring the comment he turned back to Mark "I was just wondering what the rules were about her going out of the hospital?"

Raising his eyebrows "Why Jack, you planning on asking her out?" He teased

Letting out a giggle he shook his head "No, nothing like that, she just wants to get some fresh air"

Mark shrugged "So you are going to take her outside?"

Jack smiled "Well with her doctors permission of course" He joked

"Tell you what Shephard , you beat my hand, and you have her doctors permission" Mark challenged

Jack looked at his cards, than back at Mark, nodding "Alright"

Taunting each other for a while before Mark laid his cards on the table, than Jack placed his in front of him, smiling up at Mark "A pair of nines?"

Looking at Mark's cards he shrugged "Guess it was enough huh?"

Laughing he replied "Alright, it wouldn't do any harm to take her outside, but I'd keep it close to the hospital, just in case" He told the other doctor

"Stay around the hospital, I think I can deal with that" Jack nodded

* * *

Jack walked to Kate's room the next day, running a hand of his head, which was pounding from the beers last night, very happy he didn't have any surgeries today. Walking into her room, he looked over at the bed, and found her curled up in the blankets, face in the pillow, he had to take a closer look to see her under the covers, her eyes were closed, and her face looked relaxed he didn't want to wake her, so he decided he could come back later and made his way to the door, just before he opened the door, he heard his voice in a whisper "Jack"

"Hey" He said quietly as he turned around "I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you"

She shook her head, and sat up in the bed "its okay, I've been sleeping all day"

"So what brings you by Doctor?" she asked in her usual flirty tone

"I ah" He stuttered "I have a surprise for you" He smiled at her

Raising her eyebrows at him, a small smile playing on her own lips "A surprise? What kind of surprise?"

"Well you said you wanted to go outside, that you missed picnics" He started

When he saw her face light up, he knew she wanted him continue "So let's go see some trees Miss Austen" He laughed

She pulled the covers off her with a laugh, and flung her legs over the bed, looking unsure at first, Jack walked over to her wrapping his arm around her waist to help her stand up, looking at each other once she was standing, he broke the gaze, letting out a cough and motioning to the door

Walking down the hall and to the elevator together, Jack kept his hand lightly on her back, guiding her to where they were going, once they got in the elevator, she noticed that they were going up, not down

Raising a questioning look at him "You know Jack, Picnics are supposed to happen outside" Not understanding why they were going up when the entrance was downstairs

He smiled over at her "Oh really?" He asked "Is that what it says in the official picnic rulebook" He joked

His attempt at being funny manage to draw a little laugh out of the beautiful brunette, the doors opened and Kate noticed that they were in a hallway, the only thing around was a door to the left of them and a staircase to the right

"You're not going to make me climb that are you?" She asked looking at the stairs

Shaking his head "We're going through the door" He told her, guiding her over to it, he opened it and let her walk in before he entered himself

When she walked she saw that they were on some kind of roof, not the top of the hospital she figured because there wasn't writing or anything, and it wasn't that big, but it was a roof she got that from looking over the edge she saw trees, and the cars passing by looked so small "Jack, what are we doing here?"

He grabbed her hand, pulling her over a few paces further, she looked around and saw that there was a blanket laid on the ground and a basket on the blanket, she looked over at Jack tears in her eyes

"So what do you say, you want to have a picnic with me Kate?" Jack smiled at her

She bit her bottom lip nervously and nodded walking over to the blanket and sitting down, smiling at him to come over, they sat there silently for a second and then Kate looked at the basket

"So what's in the basket Jack?" She smiled

Bringing it in front of her, he smiled "Everything they had in the hospital cafeteria"

* * *

Jack went to visit Kate everyday for the next week after they shared the picnic, they just talked and she opened up to him enough for him to start to care about her. Today Jack walked over to Kate's room like he did everyday for the last little while

This time when he opened her door she wasn't there, no one was there, the bed was neatly made and there were no belongings on the night table

Mark came around the corner and saw his friend standing in the room; he put his hand on his friends shoulder causing Jack to turn around "Where is she?"

"She's gone" He replied

Two words. That could change everything.

**So tell me what you guys are thinking? Hit the little button :)**


	5. Breaking The Rules

**Thanks for the reviews guys :) Enjoy this chapter !**

"_Where is she?"_

"_She's gone" He replied _

_

* * *

_He felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach, confusion and sadness filled his eyes as he looked at his friend "Gone" he said under his breath, trying to let it sink in, it felt like he'd been standing there for hours when in reality it had only been a matter of seconds

"Wait, what do you mean gone?" He asked "I just saw her, she was fine"

Realization hit Mark and he gave his friend a sympathetic look "Oh man, Kate's fine Jack, I discharged her this morning"

"Discharged her" He repeated, letting a breath out he didn't know he was holding in "Why would you discharge her?"

"That's what happens every time she comes in Jack" Mark told him "She doesn't have insurance, and she can't afford the hospital bills"

"So what, you just toss her out?" He asked harshly "She's sick Mark"

"Look man I know she's sick, and don't put this on me, this is her choice, this is what she asked us to do" Mark said

"Wha…What do you mean?" Jack asked

"She comes in, she stays for a week or two and then she goes home until she gets sick enough that she has to come back" He informed him

Jack shook his head "So what happens if one day, she collapses and she's alone, we won't get there in time, she'd die, she would die because she doesn't have insurance!" His heart was beating intensely in his chest

"Man, what do you want me to do?" Mark asked "I can't change the way the health care system works"

"I know" Jack patted his friend on the back "I'm sorry man"

"No worries man" He said, looking at his friend, who looked sort of disappointed and upset

"Well I better go man, take care alright" He said before leaving his friend alone

* * *

Jack walked the hospital, he prepped his patient and performed a surgery on a women that went extremely well, the whole time he couldn't get Kate out of his head, he wondered if she was okay, if she was lying someone unable to get to a phone, it was driving him crazy, up until the point that he found himself walking over to Mark's office, knocking on the door, and noticing the room was empty, he made his way to the desk, opening his friends computer, and typing in Kate's name, he knew that this was completely unprofessional and obvious against the rules, but he had to know she was okay, looking over her information, his eyes hit what he was looking for. Her address.

Walking through the hospital to get to his car, he was stopped by his father "Jack"

"What's up dad?" He asked his father

"I just wanted to see how the surgery went today?" The older man asked

"It went good, she pulled though, should be going home soon" He answered "Don't worry you have nothing to be ashamed of dad"

"Listen dad, I've got somewhere to be, so if that's all you wanted" He added

His father nodded and Jack took off, getting into his car, making his way to the address he had written on the paper in his hand

* * *

When he finally pulled to the house, that was apparently were Kate lived, it was a small white house, with a few windows, and old white fence that you could barely tell was white and the roof looked like it could cave in at anytime. Looking around before getting out and stepping up to her door, he took a breath before knocking on the door

"Jack" was the response he was met with when the door opened

"Hey" He said almost whispering

"What are you doing here?" She smiled

"I uh" He stuttered, he hadn't really thought this though "I just wanted to see if you were okay" He finished lamely

She nodded, not ready to believe that was the only reason "Well I'm fine Doctor Shephard"

Jack gave her a shy smile "I can see that, so I'll just" He started, more nervous than he thought he'd be "I'll just go"

Looking in her eyes for some reaction, he turned away walking to his car at the street

"Jack! Wait!" He heard her call

Once he turned around she continued "Why don't you come in, I just made some coffee" She offered

"I like coffee" He replied walking in with her, she gave him a smile, telling him she wanted him to come in, she wasn't just being polite

When they got inside he followed her through the house, looking around he saw that like the outside, the paint inside was pulling off the walls, and there was barely anything in the house, the kitchen had a small table and a fridge, nothing else

She set a cup of coffee in front of him, and he watched her put her milk and sugar in her cup

Letting a chuckle escape his mouth, she looked over at him "What?"

"Nothing, it's just do you like coffee or just the milk and sugar?" He joked

She laughed "What about you?"

"Black" Jack replied

"You're such a man, black coffee" She teased

Jack looked at her smiling "I'll take that as a compliment"

They sat in a comfortable silence for awhile drinking the coffee; Kate was the first to speak "So Jack, how did you know where I lived?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably "I um…I checked your file"

Kate smiled "You did huh?" She teased "Is that part of your job or something"

Jack chuckled "No, actually I could lose my job, so I'd really appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone"

Kate smiled "Your secrets safe with me", Jack returned her smile with a thank you

"So why did you risk losing your job to come see me Doctor?" she asked in a flirtatious tone

"I told you why, I wanted to make sure you were alright" He said

"That's it?" she asked

"Yeah, I just couldn't get you out of my head, I had to know you were okay" He sweetly told watching the smile on her face grow at his words

"Thinking about me huh?" She teased, sending him a week

Jack blushed through his laughter and Kate decided that she would get him out of this awkward spot

"So listen, I was thinking about going down to the little strip downtown, I hear they got some good shops there" She told him

"Yeah, I heard that too" Jack smiled, kind of disappointed they had to cut this short

"You want to come along, I could use the company" She gave him a soft nervous smile

Jack thought about this, he should probably get back to the hospital but he couldn't say no to her when she was standing there smiling at him like that "Yeah, sure"

"It will be fun, you can drive" She smiled at him before heading to his car

**Hit the button and tell me what you think? Hope you liked it :)**

**Next Chapter: Kate & Jack spend some time together outside of the hospital ;)**


	6. A Green Bracelet

**Thanks for the reviews guys, I wanted to update at least once more before going back to school on Tuesday, so here it is!. Enjoy :)**

"So Kate why'd you want to come out here?" Jack asked, they'd been walking for about 20 minutes

She shrugged "A friend told me you could find anything you need here, figured I'd give it a look"

Jack looked at her green eyes and sensed that there was more to her answer than met the eye but decided not to push "So you've never been here before"

Kate shook her head; he gave her a small smile before replying "I'm a first timer too"

"Ok Doctor Shephard, I think we should play a game" Kate said happily

Smiling at her "What do you suggest?"

"20 questions, I like to get to know all my doctors" She joked

Jack laughed "Well I'll play but right now I don't want to be your doctor, I'm just a guy"

Kate looked over at him, understanding how he felt and liking the idea of talking to Jack the man, not the doctor "First question, do you get along with your family?"

Jack took a large breath in, puffing out his chest, before letting it out and answering "Well, my mom is great; I have a sister and nephew who are amazing"

"What about your dad?" Kate asked noticing how he hadn't mentioned him

Jack chuckled nervously, sticking his hands deep in his pockets "Me and my dad have a …..a strained relationship"

Kate nodded reassuringly, not pushing the subject any further, Jack gave her a grateful smile "What about you Kate?"

"Well me and my mother haven't spoken in years and my father was never really around" She said

"I'm sorry" He said his eyes sad

Kate smiled at him, feeling the need to move away from this awkward moment "Next question, your turn"

"Any bad habits Kate?" He laughed, changing the mood around them

She pretended to think about for a while before saying "I bit my nails when I'm nervous "

Jack laughed "Saves on food right" He joked and managed to get a laugh out of her

"What do you do with your free time?" She asked

"I like to play golf, basketball with friends, poker some nights" He shrugged

They continued to play this game and walk along the strip, looking at everything they had, sharing caring glances at each other every now and then, until they reached one with clothes, bracelets and other things, Kate stopped at this one looking at the front table

"Oh I used to love these when I was younger" She exclaimed picking up some multi-colored bracelets

"Oh yeah" Jack said walking up to her and picking one up himself

Looking over at him, she laughed "You don't know what these are do you?"

"Colored rubber bracelets?" He guessed

Kate laughed louder, a sound Jack decided he liked, and it was contagious as he laughed along "These each have a meaning Jack"

"A meaning?" He repeated

"Like this one, this pink one means a kiss" She said holding it up to him, then picking up a green one "This one means a hug"

Jack watched her intently, following her every move as her hand reached down to grab each bracelet in her fingers, he found himself completely captivated by her doing such a simple thing, he saw that she as now holding a black one in her hand

"What does that one mean?" He asked amused

"This one is different, you see" She said "This one means…" He saw her lips mouth a 3 letter word that made him laugh out loud

"So what do these meanings mean exactly?" He laughed out his words

"Well, if I were to give you one, and for some reason it broke "She said getting a little closer to him, almost chest to chest "You'd have to give me whatever it meant"

Jack smiled as she pulled back, grabbing a few and putting them on her wrist, the man who was working at this shop came around, and Jack pulled out his wallet to pay for the bracelets

"Thank you" Kate said after they started walking again

Jack smiled at her "But now I get to ask the next question" He replied

Kate laughed willing him to continue, he smiled again "Where is your favorite place to go?"

Kate seemed to consider her options about the answer to his question, carefully thinking of the place she'd pick, while she did this she glanced down and played with the bracelets he bought her, making him smile. She leaned closer to him, grabbing his hand in hers and pulling him back over to the car, before getting inside she said "Get in, and I'll show you"

* * *

She had him drive a few miles out of town, until they were on a road with nothing on it, no houses and no other cars. Kate got out of the car, Jack following behind her, she led him into the forest off the side of the road, they walked in silence for a while before Jack broke it

"Do you know where we're going Kate?" He asked

Kate looked back at him "Of course I do"

A few minutes later she turned to him and said "We're here"

Looking around he could see, well trees and that was pretty much it, they were standing in a dirt spot with a log in the middle of it, and as far as the eye could see there was only trees

"I love coming out here" She finally said "This is my favorite place to go Jack"

"You want to tell me why?" He said in a gentle voice

She looked at him in front of her, and something about the way he was looking at her, screamed trust me, and something inside her knew that she could

"I have this whole scene in my head where because there's no life out here" She smiled sadly at him before continuing "I could just walk out of here, and just be in a different time, a different place, different person"

"I think that's great" He smiled

"Out here, there's no problems, there's no medical bills or heart conditions, out here I'm not the dying girl, you know I'm just a girl, nobody looks at me funny, or feels bad for me, it's peaceful, but this must all sound pitiful to you" She finished, her beautiful green eyes were filled with tears, one or two managed to escape and run smoothly down her cheek

"I don't even know how to imagine" He started his breath seemed to catch in his throat "what that must be like to you"

Their eyes locked in a moment, and it suddenly didn't matter that they were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by forest, or that Kate was sick and Jack was a doctor, none of that mattered, they were just two people gazing into brown and green orbs. Kate broke the gaze by wiping away a tear that fell from her eyes

"Kate, listen for what it's worth" Jack said "From where I stand, I see a bright, amazing, normal _girl_"

Kate lips curved into a smile at his words, wiping one last tear from her eyes, she looked back up at him "I'd really like to hug you right now, is that a little too weird?"

Jack took a step forward, noticing she didn't back away he took another one, gently grasping her arms in his hand, bringing up to him, he grabbed the green bracelet he bought her, and softly lid it off her wrist, bringing it up to both their faces, he pulled on the ends and the bracelet snapped, Smiling at her before wrapping his arms around her body, he felt her head snuggle up to his neck, her arms wrapping around his waist, and her tears flooding through his shirt. He didn't say anything, just held her for a while. Her favorite place to be.

**Hope it wasn't too bad, tell me what you thought?! Review :)**


	7. Meatballs and Veggie Burgers

**Thanks for the reviews guys! :), i wrote this one kind of fast, I'm going to try to update on the weekends cause I'm way to busy during the week, Anyways Hope you like it :)**

They were driving back to Kate's place; it was a lot darker than it was when they entered the woods. After their intimate moment in the woods, neither of them brought it up on the car ride, Jack figured Kate was one of those girls who didn't like to be weak, she was strong, he liked that about her.

When they reached the city lights again, Jack decided to speak "Kate, are you okay?"

She slowly eased her head from where it rested on the side on the door "I'm okay"

Jack nodded dropping it; she gave him a grateful smile and said "You know I'm not always that emotional"

"It's okay Kate" He smiled at her

"I don't know what happen; I just had a mild breakdown or mid-life crisis or something" She told him with a nervous laugh

Jack tilted his head and shrugged "It's good to get those out of the way while you're young" He joked back, managing to get a real honest laugh out of her

"Listen Kate, I was planning on going to get some dinner after I dropped you off, but I thought maybe you'd want to come" He asked , adding quickly "If you're hungry?"

Kate smiled at him, finding the awkward tone he was using while asking her, kind of cute "I could eat" She replied

Jack seemed to let out a breath he was holding in and gave her a nod, Kate looked down at her clothes , blue jeans and an old t-shirt, she laughed adding "Nowhere to fancy"

Jack laughed looking at his own jeans and t-shirt; he agreed "I know the place"

* * *

They pulled up to a little place at the corner of the street, it was small compared to the places around it, and if you didn't know it was there you'd miss it. Jack got out of the car, walked over to the other side and opened Kate's door for her, and walking into the restaurant

"So what is this place?" Kate asked

Jack smiled at her "The best restaurant in town"

Before she could reply, an older lady with black hair came up to them, wrapping her arms around Jack in a tight hug; Kate couldn't help but smile at this

"Who's this Jack?" The women asked smiling at Kate

"This is Kate, Kate this is Rose" He introduced the two

"Rose here, makes the best meatballs in Los Angeles "Jack informed Kate

Rose laughed, kissing Jack's cheek before seating them both "What can I get for you two?"

"I'll have the usual "Jack announced, Kate looked at the menu and replied "I'll have the number 4"

Rose left them alone to talk, while she went to work on their orders. Kate looked over the booth at Jack and smiled "So how'd you find this place?"

"I just kind of stumbled across it, now I come here all the time, Rose is like family" He said

Kate smiled "You guys seemed close, it's nice"

Jack shrugged "I'm a pretty likable guy Kate"

They both chuckled, "So number four huh?" Jack asked "You're a vegetarian?"

Kate raised her eyebrows at him, then smiled, of course he knew the menu "Yeah, I am" she replied

"You're not going to lecture me are you?"

Shaking her head, she laughed "Nope"

"So where did you go to school Jack?" She asked after a few minutes of silence

"Ummm, I went to high school here, than to New York for college"

"NYU?" Kate asked

Shaking his head, he said "Columbia"

"What about you, what did you do after school?" He asked her

Kate smiled shyly " I painted, I always wanted to be a painter, you know maybe one day have my own gallery" She said, and her voice got lower as she continued "But then I got sick, and I don't know I just stopped"

Before Jack could reply their food came, and the subject was dropped. Jack had spaghetti and meatballs and Kate had the veggie burger and fries

After a while of casual conversation, Kate looked at him with a devilish grin "I think that you should try this"

"Hey, you said no lectures" Jack laughed pointing at her

"This isn't a lecture, just a friendly suggesting "She laughed, pushing her burger over to him

Jack looked down at the burger, and smiled "Okay, I'll try yours if you try a meatball"

Kate hesitated before nodding her head, she picked up half her burger and raised it to Jack's lips, he looked at her, a nervous look on his face "You like these things?"

Kate simply nodded, and Jack leaned closer to take a bite, as soon as she pulled the burger away, she could see the sickening expression gracing his features, and she couldn't help but laugh, he managed to swallow it down with his drink, and then looked at her , he said "God knows why"

She laughed, taking a bite of her meal, he looked over at her with a small smile "You know you don't have to try this if you don't want to" He offered motioning to the meatballs

Kate thought about it, he was such a good sport about the burger, she reached over a picked a meatball with her fork, putting it in mouth, she swallowed and smiled "You're right, those are pretty good"

Once they were almost finished their meal, Kate decided to ask another question, she liked getting to know Jack, she was interested…..

"So Jack, what is something no one else knows about you?" She asked as if daring him to answer

Jack chuckled, thinking about it, he answered "I rented The Notebook"

Kate held back a giggle, but it soon came out, although Jack was laughing to he said "Hey don't laugh"

"You ever watch a movie, and think that's how it's supposed to be, either you get it or you don't, you know no playing around, everything's just right" He asked her

Kate smiled sweetly at him, thinking that he was right; everything should be that easy, she wondered about the two of them, this seemed right didn't it?

They finished eating and paid for their meal, said goodbye to Rose and headed for the car, Driving Kate back to her place, they made small talk and there were some silences but comfortable ones. They reached her place, stopping at the curb, Jack got out and they started walking towards her steps

"You know you're pretty great Kate" Jack smiled at her

"You don't have to say that, I can handle the truth" She told him

"It's true, and I think someone should tell you that, so that you know, you deserve to know"

They reached the door and Jack walked in with her, they'd spent the whole day together, and he wanted to make sure she was okay before he left. She kicked her shoes off and sat down on the kitchen chair, she looked tired, Jack grabbed a pen from the table, and turned to the sticky pad on the fridge, written down his number, he turned back to her "If you need anything, anything at all, call me okay?"

Kate nodded "Thanks Jack, I had a lot of fun today"

He smiled "Me too"

"So does that mean, I'll see you again outside of the hospital?" She asked boldly in her flirtatious tone

Jack shook her head and chuckled, waving as he made his way to the door "Goodnight Kate"

**Tell me what you think? Hit the button? :)**


	8. White Fences and Bedtime Stories

It had been two days since Kate saw Jack last, he didn't call the next day or drop by, she figured that he must have been busy with work, but as much as she tried to ignore it, she kind of missed him. She got out of bed on the third day and stumbled over to the kitchen to make some coffee, when she got there she could hear thumping outside her house, looking out the window she saw the source of the noise, walking outside she offered "Jack, what are you doing here?"

Jack looked up from what he was doing; she was standing in front of him in her pajamas and slippers "Hey Kate" He chuckled

She looked down at herself and blushed, looking back at him, he was wearing dark jeans and an old grey sweater with Columbia written across it, she noticed for the first time that he had a hammer in his hand and a can of white paint at his side "Jack what are you doing to my fence?" She smiled

Jack stood from where he was kneeling by the fence, wiping his hands on his pants and a hand through his hair he said "When I was here a few days ago, I noticed your fence was" He paused "Well was falling apart" He laughed and so did Kate

"So what you're going to fix it for me?" She asked shyly, and blush creeping to her cheeks

"I thought maybe I could fix it up and since I know you love to paint, maybe you could help me?" He said nervously and returned her shy smile

Kate couldn't help the feeling of warmth the gesture spread through her body, he was here at her house, fixing her fence on what was probably his only day off, the least she could do was help paint it right?

She smiled at him as their eyes locked and a strand of hair fell from behind her ear, Jack had to fight the urge to trace it back out of her face, Kate cleared her throat "Let me just go get dressed"

Jack nodded and watched her walk back into the house and smiled.

She came back out a few minutes later in an old pair of ripped blue jeans and green t-shirt; Jack had managed to get some of the pieces of wood that was hanging off, nailed back to right spot while Kate had been gone. She walked over to him, he looked up and found himself distracted by how she could look that good in ripped jeans, he brought the hammer down again, his lack of attention causing it to hit his thumb, biting down on his lip as he cursed in pain

"Jack, are you okay?" Kate was at his side, taking his hand in hers

"I'm great" He replied sarcastically

His hand still in hers, she lead him inside the house, getting some ice and wrapping it in a towel before handing it to him for his thumb, watching him she couldn't hold back her laugh

"You think this is funny?" Jack asked her, confused by her laughter

"It's just how did you manage that?" Kate asked nodding towards his red thumb

"There's a reason I'm a doctor and not a carpenter" Jack laughed

Kate giggled along with him "You're dad never taught you to use a hammer Jack"

"My dad taught me how to drink" He replied, glancing away from her

Kate decided to ease him out of the mood they'd fallen into "So I'll hammer from now on okay?"

Jack chuckled "Sounds good" He nodded

They went back out to the front yard once Jack's thumb stopped swelling and he got the natural color back into it, Kate hammered the rest of the hanging pieces, and then they both grabbed a paint brush and painted the fence together. Once it was done they stood back and admired their work

"It looks good" Jack spoke

Kate smiled "Yeah, we make a good team Dr. Shephard"

Jack chuckled, she seemed to like calling him that, so he didn't tell her that he hated it, he simply smiled

"So why did you pick white Jack?" Kate asked after a moment of silence

Jack gave her a questioning glance, "The paint, why'd you pick white?" She explained

He shrugged his broad shoulders "I guess I figured what girl doesn't want the white picket fence right?"

"I don't think it counts if you don't have the rest of the scene to go with it" She said sadly

"Hey" Jack said softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder "Maybe you're just doing it one step at a time, you'll get there"

Kate smiled at his words, she may not believe them to be true but he was being too sweet to tell him that, they stood and looked at the newly painted white fence and behind it stood an old half caved in house, but that didn't matter to Kate, she loved her new fence.

* * *

A little while later, they found themselves walking the boardwalk together, Kate suggested the walk and Jack wasn't ready to go home yet so he agreed

"Thanks for today Jack, it was really sweet of you to fix my fence" Kate told him sweetly

"It was fun, you know besides almost breaking my thumb" He laughed "But it turned out great so I'd say it was worth it"

Jack looked over at Kate in the silence; he saw that she was shivering, touching her arm "Are you cold?"

She nodded slightly, and Jack pulled his grey sweater over his head, Kate watched his every move as he did, blushing when the t-shirt he had underneath lifted up a little, he handed it to Kate, she gladly accepted, pulling it over her head she couldn't help but breath in the smell of it, she decided she like the smell a lot.

"Thanks" She smiled at Jack

Jack nodded "It looks better on you anyways"

They walked in silence for a while longer, and then he drove her home.

Jack laid sleeping in his bed the moonlight shinning through his curtains, his eyes fluttered open to the sound of his cell phone ringing, glancing over at the clock it read 3:26, rubbing his eyes, sleep still overcoming his body, he wondered who in the world would call him at this hour, reaching over he flipped his phone open "Hello" He whispered sleepily

"Jack?" The voice asked

"Kate, is that you? What's wrong?" He asked feeling instantly awake and alert

"Yeah, it's me" Her voice was thick and shaky as it came through the line "I just umm…I was brought to the hospital tonight"

Jack threw his legs over the bed and reached for his jeans as he asked "What? What happen? Are you alright?"

"I just after you dropped me off, I wasn't feeling too well, and I guess I fell, my neighbor called the ambulance" She told him, her voice was hoarse and he could tell by the way her breath hitched that she was having trouble breathing

By the time he asked his next question, he was dressed and walking down the street to the hospital "Are you okay? What did the doctor say?"

"I'm okay, just that I probably over did it today, the painting and the walk, I need to take it easy" She said

Jack felt his breath catch in his throat, smelling the paint couldn't have helped her case, he felt like an idiot, he's a doctor he should have known it would be too much for her, as if sensing what he was thinking she spoke again "Jack, this isn't your fault, that's not why I called"

"Why did you call Kate?" He asked carefully

"I wanted to hear your voice, it kind of calms me down" She told him honestly

Despite himself he smiled and replied "Well I can talk to you awhile, what do you want to talk about?"

"I was thinking maybe you could just tell me a story" She said, and although he didn't know what kind of story he could come up with, he knew she was having a hard time talking so he agreed, he didn't say anything for a while, trying to think of something to tell her, she spoke again "I'm scared Jack"

Her voice was so raw and so innocent that it made his heart sink, but it gave him his story

"When I was in resistance, my first solo procedure was a spinal surgery on a 16 year old kid, girl" He said, he heard Kate cough on the other side of the phone, but he just continued " And at the end after 13 hours I was closing her up and I accidentally ripped her deralsack"

"What's that?" He heard her soft voice asked, he could tell she was getting sleepy

"It's right at the base of the spine, where all the nerve come together, membrane as thin as tissue" He answered, taking a breath before continuing " So it ripped open, nerves just spilled out of her like angel hair pasta, spinal fluid spilling out of her, and I …"

He stopped "Kate, you still with me?" he received a very low weak "Yes" from her and carried on

"The terror was just so, so crazy" He paused "So real, and I knew I had to deal with it" A tear fell out of his eye, he quickly wiped it away, he didn't want her to know this, he didn't want her to think it was somehow her fault, so he kept talking "So I just made a choice, I'd let the fear in, let it take over, let it do its thing, but only for five seconds that's all I was gonna give it"

"So I started to count" He said "One"

"Two" He said but this time, he heard her low voice count with him

"Three" They counted together

Once they hit "Four" Her voice was barely there, and he could hear by the pattern in her breathing that she'd fallen asleep

H reached the hospital and walked into her room, sure enough she was curled up on the left side of the bed in the hospital gown, his lips curved into a smile when he saw that overtop of the gown, she still had his sweater on, wrapped around her body as tight as she could get it, he pulled the chair over to the bed, sat down and grabbed her hand, gently lancing his fingers with hers, he whispered "Five" Before lying his head down and fallen asleep with her.

**Hit the button, tell me what you think?**


	9. Open Your Eyes

The next morning, Kate's eyes fluttered open, the sun hadn't fully rising yet, so she knew it was still early, wiping the sleep from her eyes, she finally glanced down. The sight that she was met with brought a smile to her face, it was Jack, he must have pulled the chair up to her bed last night, she thought. He was still grasping her hand, his grip was firm but gentle, and the heat from his palm made her body feel warm, his head lying next to their hands, his back arched from the chair.

She looked away from his sleeping form as she heard the door open.

"Morning Kate" The man said

"Good morning Dr. Silverman" She replied tiredly

Kate looked back down at Jack, fighting the urge to run her hand threw his short brown hair, she raised her head once again when she heard the other man speak "I was told he came in late last night, guess he feel asleep too" He informed her

Kate nodded "I called him, but I...I didn't think he'd come here, I didn't think he'd stay"

Mark shrugged "That's Jack, that's what he does when he cares about something" He told her "Someone"

Before she had the chance to reply she felt Jack stir, and slowly she saw his brown eyes open, taking in his surroundings, looking a little lost at first, and then smiled at Kate before turning his attention to Mark, it took a moment before he let go of her hand and stood from the chair he'd spent the night in, arching his back and letting out a groan as the pain shot threw his spine.

"Hey man, rough night?" Mark tried to keep his voice professional

Jack chuckled "Not as rough as Kate's" He said "What happened last night Mark?"

"She was brought into the hospital-"He trialed

"I know, she told me that, I meant why? What caused her to pass out?" Dr, Shephard asked, his doctor mode fully kicked in now

Mark looked at Kate for permission, She nodded "It's okay, I want him here" She said looking at Jack reassuringly

"Miss Austen, your last test results showed that your heart has enlarged significantly" He told her

Kate looked back and forth between him and Jack "What does that mean?"

"It causes your tricuspid valves to have a harder time closing the way they should, and in your case resulted in murmurs" He continued

Kate looked scared, and very confused at the way her doctor was explaining things to her, so Jack reached down for her hand, squeezing it slightly "It's like an extra sound when we listen to your heart, it happens because of turbulent blood flow, and depending on the type, most of the time it doesn't cause any trouble" He told her, giving her a reassuring smile

"So why did I pass out? Do I have kind of murmur that doesn't cause me trouble?" She asked a million miles an hour, her heart was pumping in her chest, she was scared, so she started to count silently in her head, when she got to five she opened her eyes

Mark waited for her eyes to open before answering her questions "You could have passed out for a number of reasons, exhaustion, it could have also been your blood pressure, it was pretty high when you got here last night, so we'll have to watch that" He told her "As for the murmurs we will run some more test to find out exactly how we can treat it"

"So what happens now?" Jack asked, swallowing hard

Mark closed her chart, and turned to her "Well I know you don't like to stay any longer than you need, so if everything looks fine tomorrow, we'll let you go home" He told her

Kate smiled, but her smile faded when he informed her of the rest "But you'll need somebody with you at all times, just to be safe, make sure you take it easy"

Kate nodded "Thank you "

With that Mark left the room, leaving Jack and Kate alone. He sat back down in the chair next to her, her hand still in his.

"Listen Jack, I'm sorry for calling you, I didn't mean for you to have to sleep in the chair, I just-"She trailed off

"Kate, stop I'm glad you called me, I'm just glad you're feeling okay now" He told her, receiving a smile from the pretty brunette

"Thanks Jack, It means a lot to me" He nodded in response

"I noticed you like the sweater" He laughed, nodding his head towards the sweater she was still untangled in

Kate blushed, gripping the hem with her fingers "Yeah, I guess I just forgot to take it off" She said nervously "It's warm"

They got caught in another lock, their eyes pouring into one another, and even if they wanted to they couldn't look away, after a moment Jack cleared his throat "So...um who are you going to get to stay with you?"

Kate looked down sadly "I don't know"

"What about your parents?" He asked

She looked down again, playing with the loose sweater around her wrist, suddenly Jack remembered their conversation, her dad was always gone and her and her mother didn't talk, he wondered why that was, but didn't ask

"Right, but don't you think your mom would want to help if she knew what was going on?" He asked sensitively, careful not to hurt her in any way

"You don't know my mom Jack, she doesn't care" She said, her voice sad, and her green eyes filled with tears now

He squeezed her hand in comfort

* * *

The next day Jack found Diane Austen in the phonebook. He didn't know what made him do it, but he got in his car and drove to the house from the address the phonebook gave him.

Walking up to the door, he knocked and waited for someone to answer. A women came to the door, she didn't look like Kate, she was blonde and her eyes were different, colder maybe

"Can I help you?" She said threw the screen window

"I'd just like to speak with you about your daughter" Jack tried

The women shot him a devilish look "I haven't spoken to my daughter in years"

"I know, Kate told me that" He said, when he said her name the women opened the door and stepped out, closing the door behind her

"Look I don't know who you are, but whatever you want from Katie, I have nothing to do with" She shot at him

Jack took a step back, raising his hands "I don't want anything from Kate, I just want 5 minutes with you" He said "And I'm Jack, I'm a ……Friend of Kate's" He finished

She seemed to relax and took a seat on the steps; Jack slowly moved to sit beside her "Do you know that she's sick?" He asked

"I knew she was sick, I don't have any idea with what or any other details" The women said with sadness in her voice

"She's got a heart condition Miss Austen" He told her "I can't go into detail with you, but she is pretty sick"

The women didn't say anything so he continued on "She could really use someone on her side, some support, she needs someone to take care of her, she needs her mother"

"She was not there when I needed her, why should I be there for her" The women shot out angrily and Jack wondered if it was the same women who was sad about not being a part of her daughters life

"Because she might die!" Jack shot back; he couldn't help the anger and frustration building up inside him

Jack shook his head "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything"

He got up off the step and started walking back to his car, when he heard her scream out "Hey! are you trying to scare me?" She asked

"I'm trying to wake you up" He said honestly "There's a big world out there, it's messy and screwed up and it is _never_, never the thing you expect"

"It is okay to be scared, but you can't let your fears tear you away from people, not when it comes to the people who really love you, the people that _need_ you" He finished

With that he got into his car and drove away, leaving behind a women, who he hoped was realizing she needed to be someone's mother.

**Hit the button!**

**Coming up: What is Kate going to think about all this? Will Diane go see Kate?**


	10. Bright & Beautiful

**Here's a update, somebody said in a review they'd like to see Christian, so he'll be coming up in the next few chapters. :) Anyways Enjoy! **

The next day Jack walked into Kate's room, going back and forth in his head about weather or not to tell her about his visit to her mother.

"Hey" He said as he walked in

Kate was sitting up in the bed, reading a magazine which she lifted her head from when she heard his voice; she smiled "Hey Jack"

"How are you feeling today?" He asked

Kate gave him a questioning look "Are you asking as my doctor?"

Jack chuckled "I'm asking as Jack, as myself"

Kate laughed "I'm doing a lot better than last night" She said "Which reminds me, where did you run off to?"

Jack swallowed hard, before deciding he wasn't going to lie to her "Listen Kate, I don't want to hurt you" He told her softly as he walked closer and stood at the edge of her bed

Kate's expression grew nervous, and her shaky voice said "Good, because I don't want to be hurt Jack"

He drew in a shaky breath "Last night I ummm…I went to go see your mom"

"My mom, how did you find my mother?" She blinked in confusion

Jack shook his head "It doesn't matter" He said "Look Kate, I completely understand if you're mad or if you never want to hear from me again, because I went behind your back"

He paused "But I knew that not talking to her was painful for you, and I couldn't stand by and watch it hurt you" He told her "But it wasn't my place and I'm sorry"

Kate stared at him, neither of them saying anything for a long period of time; Kate broke the silence "What did she say?"

Jack blinked twice, he wasn't sure he heard her right, he was sure she'd be angry "She doesn't know about your condition, but she knew you were sick"

"Did she say she'd come see me?" She asked, her voice filled with the innocence of a child

Jack felt his heart break a little at what he had to tell her, how did he tell her this "She, umm…She said she would try to stop by" And in the end he just couldn't

Kate nodded sadly, Jack walked over and grabbed her hand in his, stroking it gently "Did Mark sign your discharge papers?" He asked lighting the mood with a change of subject

Kate looked up at him "Tomorrow" She said "But only if I have someone with me"

The next time she looked up at him, her eyes were puffy and red and tears were falling down her freckled cheeks "Please Jack, I can't stay here, this place, it's driving me nuts"

She was clinging onto his shirt, her head buried deep in the fabric, as he whispered calming words in her ear "It's alright, its okay" He said "We'll figure it out okay, everything going to be okay, I promise you"

* * *

The next night after his shift was over, like he did everyday he went up to Kate's room "Hello Doctor" She said when she seen him

"You ready to get out of here?" He chuckled

Kate looked confused "Where we going?"

Jack simply shrugged "It's a surprise"

She followed him out to the car, she still had his old Columbia sweater on, and she just couldn't bring herself to take it off yet. They drove for a little while, until they stumbled upon a place Kate knew very well, it was the forest she'd brought him too a little while ago, this was her favorite place to be.

"Jack what are we doing here?" She asked when they reached the exact spot they were in before

Jack smiled, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets "Look up" He told her

Kate did as he told her "What am I looking at Jack?" She swallowed a laugh

He walked up behind her, his arms wrapping around her sides to show her a white piece of paper "You officially have a star up there"

"What?" Kate laughed "What are you talking about Jack?"

"There's this" He stuttered "There's this place where you can adopt a star, and you give it a name, so there I was thinking about what I should name it, and I thought what is bright and beautiful like a star?"

He swallowed nervously before finishing "I named it Kate"

Kate blushed and turned around to face him, they were dangerously close, noses almost brushing, breath hitting each of their lips "I just I know that you've been hurt and it made you believe that everyone is going to leave you, well now you have this star up there, _your_ star and it's always going to be there, it's never going to leave you Kate"

* * *

The next day Kate had a check-up with . It was still early in the day, Jack was checking up on his patience when he spotted Mark talking on his phone, he seemed to be frustrated with the person on the other end.

"Hey Man, everything alright?" Jack asked when his friend was finished on the phone

"Marie is driving me crazy with this wedding stuff, she wants me to go sit through a million different wedding things today, I just don't have the time" He explained

"Well what do you have?" Jack asked

"Austen's coming in for a check up today around 2" He told the other doctor

"I can handle that man, go be with your fiancée" Jack offered

Mark seemed tense at his suggestion "It's alright, thanks man"

Jack looked confused and asked "What's going on with you man?"

Mark looked down then back up at Jack "Look Jack, Your dad called me into his office today"

"What? Why?" Jack asked curiously

"Look you didn't hear this from me, but he told me that he didn't want you on Austen's case" Mark told him

With that the doctor walked away, leaving Jack there wondering what the hell was going on?

He was going to find out, that was his thought as he walked towards his father's office

**Hit the button! **


	11. Sometimes Words Don't Count

Jack walked through his father's office door, not bothering to knock first.

"What the hell is your problem Dad?" He asked feeling frustrated

The older man looked up from the papers he'd been reading with a puzzled look gracing his face "Jack, Calm down and tell me what your talking about" He said calmly

"Don't, don't sit there and pretend you have no clue" He said "Austen's case Dad, why would you pull me off?"

Christian shut the file on his desk, and leaned forward in his seat "It was never your case to begin with Jack"

Running a hand through his chopped hair he said "That's not the point" He bit his lip out of frustration "I was helping out a friend, you know someone who actually has a life outside this dam hospital"

He looked at his father sternly "Not that you would know what that's like right Dad?"

"This isn't about me Son, this is about you getting too attached to this case" He answered back

"What?" Jack blinked "You have no idea what you're talking about" He shouted

"I know when you start to slip Jack, when you let your guard down, you never knew where to draw the line when it comes to women" the grey haired doctor told his son

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" His anger was boiling up now

"It means that your getting too attached to this girl Jack, and you being here right now proves that to me even more, you'll see that this is to protect you" He said

Walking back and forth for a while, he finally asked "Protect me from what?"

"From falling" His father said "This girl Jack, she's got an expiration date"

The young doctor took at step back, shaking his head in fury "You really are a heartless bastard aren't you" He said with the thickest emotion and disgust in his raw voice "You don't give a dam that she's a person, a_ good_ person"

Stopping to control his anger, he took a breath before he continued "Well I'm sorry dad, I can't just write her off, I can't just wash my hands, go home and forget about her"

He walked towards the door, placing his fingers around the knob, and before he turned it, he looked back at the man and said "I guess you were right all these years, I don't have what it takes, and I'm done trying"

With that he left.

* * *

Hours later, he was walking through the corridors of the main hallway, when he heard a familiar voice call his name

"Jack"

He turned around to put a face to the voice, but he knew it was her before he turned to face her "Hey Kate"

"How'd your check-up go? Everything normal?" He asked her

The pretty brunette smiled at him "So far, so good Dr, Shephard"

Jack nodded and gave her his best fake smile, but she caught on fast "Hey" She said softly and touched his upper arm "What's going on?"

"Nothing" He said shaking his head, Kate shot him the look that told him she wasn't buying it, so he tried again "It's just ... You ever feel like you're living someone else's life, like where you are, is the farthest place from where you want to be?"

Kate took in his brown orbs, and for the first time saw that behind those dark eyes, was pain, and she knew the look to well from her own experience, it somehow made her feel closer to him in that moment.

She glanced away and then replied "Of course I do Jack, do you really think I imagined myself here, in a hospital with a million doctors and test and a falling heart?" She gave him a sad smile

"Right" He said, returning her sad smile "I'm sorry, it's been a long couple of hours"

Kate nodded, deciding that maybe they both needed to get away she offered "It's got to be your lunch hour soon, want to go grab a coffee?"

He shot her a curious look, and she quickly added "Not like a date or anything, just friends who might need to talk?"

Jack chuckled "Yeah that sounds great"

* * *

Later at the coffee shop down the street, they drank their coffee in silence, glancing at each other every now and then

"You know I'm here if you want to talk right?" Kate offered ending the silence

Jack smiled "You have enough to deal with Kate"

She reached out across the table and grabbed his hand, rubbing her thumb over it without noticing she did it "You listened to me complain, I think I owe you one"

It managed to get a chuckle from the man in front of her "Come on, I wont tell I promise" She joked

He knew that he could trust her, that wasn't the problem; it was that he didn't want her to pull away because of his father, but he told her anyways.

After he finished telling her the story, they sat there together, hands still together, Jack looking at the table, Kate looking across the street through the window. Silence filled the air, until Kate looked back from the window, feeling her eyes on him, he glanced up

"Have you ever read _The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner_ Jack?" She asked

Startled by her question, it took him a minute to shake his head "I haven't, why?"

"It's about this kid, a boy, and his life's been pretty ruff, and he's bitter about everything." She tells him "He eventually gets into trouble and gets sent to reform school"

Jack sat there listening but not understanding what this had to do with him, and his father, but something told him she'd get to that, so he just listened

"So the Warden at this school finds out that the boy can run, and wants the boy to get the school the big trophy" She goes on "The kid knows he's being used, so you know what the kid does?"

Jack looked at her and shook his head again "What?"

"He waits till it's the day of the race, he leads everyone the whole race, then about 20 yards from the finish line, he looks up at the Warden and he stops Jack" She tells him, as if it was supposed to mean something to him

When she's finished he speaks "What does this have to do with me?"

Kate shrugs "I don't know Jack; I'm just saying that sometimes words, they don't count, you know they fly over peoples heads, and the only way to get through to them is to act"

Jack nodded his head, the relation to him seeming clearer now "So is this your way of saying I need to stand up to my father?"

Kate let a laugh escape her, and shrugged her shoulder "I'm just saying that it's been nice, and I guess I just hope you decide to stop, and not let him make _you_ disappear, that's all"

Jack looked at her, as if the rest of his life was going to be based on the next 30 seconds, the choice he was going to make. In one quick movement he leaned forward and captured her soft lips with his.

Sometimes words don't count. Sometimes you have to act so dramatically that people are stunned.

**Hit the little button :)**


	12. You Could Be Happy

She felt herself give into him, letting the feeling of his lips wash over hers sink in until it got deep enough for her to bounce back to reality and she pulled away slowly. Looking in his eyes as they opened slowly at the loss of contact.

"Jack, we can't do this" She whispered

He looked down and back up at her "Why not?" He asked "That felt right just now, didn't it?"

She didn't answer instead she moved forward until her lips were on his again, and she knew he was right, it felt so right, the tears welled up in her eyes because she knew she couldn't have it. Once again she pulled away

"Jack, you promised me" She told him, catching her breath

His face was still close enough to hers that she could feel his breath hit it skin, sending shivers down her spine, he raised his eyebrows in confusing until he remember the promise he made "Kate, I promised not to fall in love with you" He said

"This is just a kiss, I'm not proposing" He chuckled

Kate couldn't stop the smile that graced her face, and he took it as a good sign, he reached over, gliding his thumb down her cheek, she leaned in and then took a step back "No, Jack I can't, I have to look at this with both eyes open"

"So look" He said seriously, her green eyes making contact with his dark brown orbs "I just, I like you Kate"

She laughed lightly "You don't even know me"

He shook his head "Yes, I do, you're trouble, I understand that" He told her with a smile "I kind of like that about you"

"You're impulsive and I like that too, because I tend to over think things" He continued "I just, and don't take this as some kind of commitment speech that's going to make you run away, but when I look at you, I see everything I want" He told her

He tried to pull her closer to him, and she lets him and finally decides to speak "I look at you and I see" She stopped, looking in his eyes

"What Kate?" He whispers, and she wants to tell him that she sees everything he sees in her, but his brown eyes make her heart skip a beat and she remembers that she'll never have, she can't.

So she lies "I see my doctor Jack, that's all"

He takes a step back and runs his hair through his chopped hair, he takes a few steps away from her, then a few more closer to her "You don't mean that" "Jack" She tried, but he stopped her again "Don't tell me you felt nothing a few seconds ago"

He walked over to her and took her hands in his "Tell me honestly that you don't want this"

Her eyes filled with tears, and she didn't say a word, she just looked at him, when he saw the tear slid down her cheek, he rubbed it away with his thumb "Now I made you cry, I'm sorry Kate"

Kate shook her head and squeezed his hand tighter "No, you didn't, it's just that I'm scared Jack, being with you, caring about you, it scares me okay?"

The expression on his face softened and he wrapped her arms around her body "It's okay, Shhh" "I'm just asking for a chance Kate, after these past few weeks, do I really not even get a shot?" He said looking down at her

She couldn't fight to keep the guards up anymore, and she let herself smile "I don't know why you'd still want one, but what did you have in mine?"

"Dinner at my place around 8?" He said nervously

Kate smiled "You can cook Dr. Shephard?" She teased

Jack laughed "You'll have to tell me after tonight" He told her

"I'll see you tonight" She said, getting up and kissing his cheek lightly, still feeling very uneasy but liking the way the little bit of scruff on his cheek felt on his lips

* * *

Later that night, around 8:15 he heard a soft knock at his door, walking over and opening it, he was greeted with a gorgeous brunette who gave him a quick kiss before he let her in.

"So what did you make me Jack?" Kate joked

Chuckling he said "Well it isn't finished yet, you want to give me a hand?" He asked

She followed him into the kitchen, she could smell something good, and when she walked in she learned that he was making spaghetti, the sauce was still on the counter, and he must have been cutting up things to put in it because there was still stuff beside the pot.

"Spaghetti huh?" She asked teasingly

"What you don't like it?" He asked nervously

She laughed out loud "I love it, what can I do to help?"

For the next little while, they worked together, Jack cutting and Kate tossing it in the pot, making small talk as they did so, it felt good being there together.

"Hear try it" Kate said, sticking up finger that had a little bit of the sauce they just made together on it

"No, you should be the first to try it" He laughed

They continued this charade for a few more seconds until Kate moved her arm up, and accidently ticked Jack's face with the finger full of sauce

"I can't believe you just did that" He chuckled

Kate laughed at his expression "Awe but you look so cute covered in sauce" She teased, in a quick movement spread some more over his face

"Okay, that's it, you better run "He said as he she bolted down, he ran after her, hot on her heels

He chased her around the kitchen, until he's arms connected with her waist, wrapping themselves around it tightly, they stopped laughing when they realized they were so close, their noses were brushing slightly "You're beautiful" Jack said quietly

She blushed slightly, bending her head, to avoid his gaze "Hey, look at me" He said, bringing her chin up to look at her eyes "You are, and you deserve to know that"

"Why won't you let yourself feel this Kate?" He asked

Kate pushed a strand of hair out of her face "Because I can't Jack"

He sighed "Why because you're sick? He asked "You're allowed to be happy too, please give me a chance to make you happy"

She didn't think, for once she didn't care what the consequences were, she just let herself feel. She reached up and kissed his lips in a fast passionate kiss, it was rough and needy at first, and then they both let their bodies flow into it, they sunk into each other, and before they knew it they were on the coach, his shirt on the floor, his body hovering over hers, their tongues dancing together. Soon her clothes joined his on the floor.

As she lay there afterwards, sprawled out on his bare chest, listening to his heart beat, as he ran his fingers through her dark hair, she felt no pain, no worry.

"How are you feeling?" He whispered against her skin as he kissed her forehead

Smiling and kissing his chest, she said "Happy"

**Hit the button! :)**

**I threw in a line from ATWT, if you watch that show, did you catch it? :)**


	13. I'm Sinking

**Okay, I know i promised SoFeelingTheLove this yesterday, I'm sorry i just had to go play in the snow, lol. So here's your update today, Hope you like it :)**

The next few days Jack didn't see much of Kate, He'd been working and he guessed that she was doing well considering she wasn't at the hospital, which he was glad for. They hadn't talked about what happen between them two but they seemed to have left it on good terms. He was walking through his kitchen when he realized that he missed her, Kate. Walking to his living room, he picked up the phone and dialed Mark's number.

"Hey Mark, It's Jack, Listen I need a favor" He said when his friend picked up the phone.

He spent the next 10 minutes explaining what the favor he needed was, then hung up and ran upstairs to get dressed, in a pair of old beige shorts and a grey t- shirt he headed to his car and drove out of his driveway. He arrived at a little house with a freshly painted white fence; he smiled as he walked by it, remembering the day they painted it together. By the time he reached the last step to the door, he felt nervous, it wasn't the first time he'd knocked on her door but he never had this much on the line before, so taking a deep breath, he knocked

"Jack" She smiled when she opened the door to see him standing there, hands in his pockets looking all venerable

He smiled, back taking one hand out of his pocket to make a waving gesture "Hey "

The beautiful brunette couldn't help but laugh a little at his awkwardness around her and replied "Come on in"

He nodded as he moved past her to get inside while she held the door open, their bodies touching slightly on his way inside, He looked around the house at first but they didn't go any further, they just stood together in her doorway

She cleared her throat "So what are you doing here Jack?"

Bringing his hand to slid down the back of his neck nervously he said "I just-um I came to see what you were doing" He said, then realized that might sound creepy, he added quickly "I mean if you were you know busy?"

Kate laughed "Jack why are you so nervous?"

Shaking his head with a laugh "I'm sorry, I promise I'm not always this much of a loser"

She bit down on her lip and reached out to touch his arm, pulling back when he looked up at her again, and her eyes found his "I don't think you're a loser, it's cute, you're cute "

He smiled, then avoided her gaze and after a moment spoke again "So are you? Busy I mean?"

"No, I've got nothing planned, what did you have in mind?" She asked him

"Nothing" He spit out "I mean, I thought maybe you'd want to go down to the beach?" He suggested "With me?" he added as an after thought

A natural giggle came from Kate as she turned slightly "That sounds great, let me just go change"

He watched her walk up stairs and once he was sure she was gone he let out a deep breath along with a chuckle. She came back down a few minutes later with a blue Rolling Stones t-shirt on and a pair of blue shorts.

"The stones huh?" Jack joked when she came back into his view

Laughing she replied "What they're classic"

He giggled as they made their way out the door "I knew you were a rock kind of girl"

* * *

They got to the beach and parked the car. Kate opened her door to get out and Jack ran to her side of the car to stop her from walking to the water just yet

"Jack what are you doing, let's go?" She asked him when he blocked her from getting out

Jack swallowed hard before he spoke "So um- there was a reason I chose the beach Kate"

"Okay" She replied, giving him a questioning look, urging him to go on

"It's a surprise, I just need you to trust me, I'm going to cover your eyes and led you somewhere okay?"

She was quiet for awhile, so he tried again "Do you trust me Kate?"

Kate closed her eyes, she felt his hands slowly rub her arms up and down, _Did she trust him?_ She thought about it for a second then opened her eyes, finding them connecting instantly to a pair of beautiful brown ones, and she nodded "Yes, I trust you"

"Okay" He smiled and made his way around her, bringing his hands to cover her eyes, he felt her eyelashes bat against his palm and smiled to himself, then started to walk, leading her to their destination

They walked for a sort while, Jack gently guiding Kate through the parking lot. When they stopped he waited a moment before removing his hands from her eyes, when they left what she saw made her breath hitch in her throat for a second, then she recovered. The first thing she noticed was that there was no one else at the spot they were standing, then she saw the blanket laid out along the sand, just above the shore, a basket and a bottle of wine rested on top of it.

"Jack" She breathed out

"I remember you said you liked picnics once right?" He smiled down at her

She turned to him and nodded "How did you do all this?"

"I didn't, I had some help from Mark" He told her "I covered for one of his patients, so he owed me one" He laughed

So did Kate "This is amazing Jack"

He smiled grabbing her hand and pulling her to the blanket "So are you" he said making her blush

They sat down together on the blanket as Kate went through the basket; she smiled as she pulled out one of Rose's veggie burgers "You remembered"

"Of course I did" He told her "How could I not, I couldn't get that taste out of my mouth for days"

She laughed, swatting his arm playfully "It's not that bad Jack"

He rolled his eyes "I had to use 3 tubes of toothpaste, no lie" He chuckled

"Well" She said still laughing "You taste pretty good to me"

They spent the next little while talking and eating, once they were done Jack sat with his hands to his sides holding him up, and Kate's head in his lap as she laid across him, his fingers found themselves running through her curly brown hair every now and then, they were silent for a bit, just looking out into the water. Kate turned her head to look up at him "How do you feel about pictures?" She asked

Laughing he asked "What?"

She moved off him, reaching over to her bag and pulled out her phone and moved to sit next to him "You want to take a picture?" He asked her smiling

She nodded "It's been a good day, I want to remember it"

He felt his heart sink immediately; he'd almost forgotten what she was going through right now, so he smiled and pulled her closer, she rested her head on his shoulder, and he leaned into her, her free arm was around his waist and they both smiled as the flash went off ,SNAP!

She brought them phone to look at the picture and smiled, Jack tilted his head to see but she snapped the phone shut

"Hey, let me see the picture" He complained

She laughed and got up "Nope" She said and started to run, he jumped up to chase after her, they ran around chasing each other for a while, before she stopped where the water met the sand, she had a look on her face that told Jack she wasn't playing anymore. He watched as she stood there, still.

"What are you doing Kate?" He finally asked walking over to her

"I'm sinking" She replied with a smile, he followed her eyes, and saw that she was right, the sand was up to her ankles now

"The water comes in takes the sand with it and you sink" She explained to him

He nodded, letting her do what she needed to, then he walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her frame from behind, resting his head on her shoulder "Hey, are you okay?"

"Me and my mom used to come down here and do this all the time when I was younger, it's how we got away from everything" She said it so quietly that he wouldn't have heard her if he hadn't been so close

He thumbs starting rubbing a pattern on her waist where they rested "I'm sorry Kate, I know you miss her"

She looked around her and spotted a boardwalk a little ways away "Jack, you want to go for a walk over there with me?"

Sensing her need to get away from the subject he nodded and followed her along the beach. They walked the boardwalk, half way he felt Kate's soft fingers reach for his and intertwine themselves together, he looked down and smiled, they fit perfectly. She led him to the edge before she stopped and turned to him "We should jump off Jack"

"What?" He asked a little stunned by her comment

"When I was a kid I watched everyone else jump off this into the water" She said "I was always to scared, because I was always alone"

She saw his eyes turn sadder, and he walked a little more and looked over the edge, it wasn't a big jump the water was beneath them, it was perfectly safe from what he could see, so he tightened his grip on her hand

"Okay, we'll do it together Kate" He said to her, and watched her lips curve into a smile

She laughed "I didn't think you'd want to, now I'm kind of scared"

He chuckled lightly "Don't be, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise"

She smiled "Okay, on the count of five?"

Jack looked at her, a funny grin on his face "Five? Who counts to five?"

"You do, remember?" She said sweetly "When I was in the hospital, you told me when you're scared you count to five"

"I remember Kate" He smiled

She returned it "It's kind of our thing you know?"

He nodded, touched that it meant that much to her "Okay, one"

"Two, Three, Four" The counted together, hands still clasped together, he felt Kate squeeze tighter and they both breathed out "Five" and jumped, making a splash as the hit the water, They came up laughing, and he swam over to her

"Look at you all fearless, you would have blown those kids out of the water when you were younger" He laughed

She brought her hands to cup his face, and pressed her lips to his, kissing him fully on the mouth for the first time since the night they shared everything and it felt good, and Jack's body relaxed because he knew she didn't regret what happen between the two of them, he smiled against her lips thinking that maybe now they could really make it.

**I decided to give you a few chapters of fluff before the complicated stuff comes back, hope you enjoyed it.**

**Hit the button to let me know! :)  
**


	14. Beginning, Not an End

Hey Guys, I know it's been like ages since i've updated, I been really busy with finals and studying, i finished my exams a few days ago and started writing this update but it's taken me so long to finish, i just was incapable of writing for a little while, but with alot of help from someone awesome, i finally finished it, so if you guys are still interested in this story i hope you enjoy the chapter :)

* * *

Her eyes creaked open taking in her surroundings, the dark drapes covering the windows and letting the smallest amount of light in the room, the wrinkled sheets beside her, wrinkled empty sheets she noticed, sitting up in the bed she saw his blue jeans were still on the floor and she smiled, flinging her legs off the edge of the bed she headed down stairs

She reached the kitchen, finding him standing by the stove in just pajama bottoms

"You're up early" She said against his skin, wrapping her arms around his waist

He smiled as she kissed the tattooed skin on his back "I thought I would make you breakfast"

"Aren't you going to be late for work?" she asked, roaming her hands up his chest

He turned in her embrace, bending his head to capture her lips in a soft kiss "I called in, thought maybe we could spend the day together"

She smiled, kissing him softly "As much I love the idea of having you all to myself for the day" She said, gripping his hand in hers "Unfortunately I have an appointment at the hospital"

Wrapping his arms around her waist "Is everything okay?"

Nodding and resting her head on his chest "It's just a check-up and to get the results from the tests they did the last time I was there"

Kissing her forehead "You want me to come with you?"

Kate shook her head lightly "I don't want to risk them seeing you and making you stay"

Jack chuckled causing her head to shake at its place on his chest, she kissed it lightly "But before I go, I was thinking about going for a walk, and I'd really like it if you came with me"

"That sounds nice, when is your appointment?" He smiled down at her

Glancing at the stove to check the time "In a little over an hour, so we better go get ready"

Sharing once last kiss with him, they went upstairs to get ready, coming back downstairs a little while later. They ate breakfast together and she grabbed her coat to leave

"Let's go" She said pecking his lips

* * *

Half hour later they were strolling down the street, heading towards the local park, hand in hand, laughing and smiling simply because they enjoyed each others company

They walked in silence for awhile, Kate stopped walking when she saw a family in the park, the women was sitting on the bench watching the man and the little boy toss a paper airplane into the air, and smiled as the little boy chuckled when it fell to the ground

"Where'd you go Kate?" She heard Jack asked her, tugging her arm slightly

She laughed "It's nothing" She said "They just look so happy"

He smiled "You'll be that happy too"

She pulled away from him, letting his hand drop from hers "Don't say that" He looked at her confused "Don't say that Jack because you aren't sure of it"

He raised his hand to her cheek, softly moving his thumb over her skin "Kate, what makes you believe you won't ever have that?"

"You are an amazing women and any man that could be with you and not dream about having that with you, is insane" He continued sweetly

She tried to smile, a real smile but she was failing "It's not that I don't want it Jack, I want it so bad" She said, tears in her eyes "But it isn't about what I want, I can't have it, I'm sick Jack and I just can't"

"I know your sick Kate but I believe that you will be okay" He kissed her hair "And I won't let you give up because we can make it, I know we can"

She gave her first real smile, finally and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him tenderly, they walked awhile longer, before Kate announced she had to go

"I should get going; I'll see you at the house later?" She asked

He smiled, nodding and hovering over her "Good Luck, Call me on your way back"

Kate nodded and smiled at him, her beautiful bright smile turned sad in a matter of a second, and water glistened in her eyes, Jack wrapped her in his arms once again, kissing her forehead before resting his chin on her head "Hey, are you okay?"

He felt her nod against his chin "I guess I'm just a little nervous"

He leaned forward until his lips were pressing against the skin below her ear "Count to five" He whispered

She did, and laughed a little while doing so, then kissed him goodbye and walked away

"Hey Kate" He called from where he stood "This is a beginning, not an end"

She smiled back at him, wishing she could believe that

* * *

She was sitting in a room in the hospital; a nurse had already come in to ask her all the standard questions, she answered the same as she always did and now she was alone waiting for Dr. Silverman.

She hated these check-ups, sitting in a room with nothing to stare at but medical supplies and posters telling you why you shouldn't smoke, all you have to do is think, think about all the bad things the doctor could come in and tell you, and as her mind raced through the possibilities and she wished for a second that Jack was there to hold her hand, she almost called him

"How are we doing today Kate?" Dr. Silverman chose that moment to walk in the room

Kate smiled "I'm feeling good, better than I have in a long time actually"

Mark laughed while checking her pulse "Any reason for that?"

She blushed, shrugging it off as he finished checking her over, after he was satisfied that she was okay, he flipped her chart open and looked up at her, she caught a glimpse of something in his eyes, fear, pity maybe

"What?" She asked "What's wrong?"

"Kate, you're last test showed us a new development in your condition" He told her, keeping his tone completely professional

She grasped her jeans and swallowed hard as he continued " In your condition you're at risk for other complications"

She nodded "Cardiomyopathy puts you at risk for a variety of things, one of which being Arrhythmia"

"Wha, what is that?" She asked, tears filling her green eyes

Dr. Silverman took a breath, saying it in the simplest terms he could "It basically means that there's abnormal electrical activity in the heart" He said "It causes your heartbeat to be to fast or to slow and slightly irregular"

Sitting there listening to his words, every pulse in her body was pumping rapidly, her palms were sweaty and she could feel her breath getting caught in her throat, this couldn't be happening, not now. Dr. Silverman explained how in some cases Arrhythmia can be minor but it could also be a life threatening situation.

"It puts you at risk, even more so, to strokes, cardiac arrests and in the worst cases death" He told her "But we'll monitor you closely and I'm confident we can keep it under control"

She sat silently for a few minutes, then her head popped up from where it was staring at the floor and she spoke "You can't tell Jack right?"

"Excuse me" Dr. Silverman asked confused

"I don't want you to tell Jack, He doesn't have to know" She said quickly "You can't tell him right? I mean doctor patient confidential right?"

He nodded sadly "Of Course" He walked over to the door "I'll book you an appointment for next week"

She smiled a fake smile "I'll see you then"

- There it is, I hope you liked and it was worth the wait, Will Kate tell Jack?, and there's a line from OTH in there that i thought fit perfectly for Kate's situation, did anyone catch it?

Hit the button :)


	15. Not Ready For Goodbye

Hey guys, thanks for the reviews. I've been totally obsessed with The Olympics lately, but they're over tomorrow so i'm getting back to updating. This chapters sorter than any other one but i wanted to get it out of the way, so i can bring the story to were i want it to go. Anyways I hope you like it :)

If you're gonna go, then please girl just leave me alone

cause i dont wanna see you and me going our seperate ways

i'm begging you to stay, if it isn't too late. -Jonas Borthers

* * *

He walked around the park for a little while after she left, then he walked down the street to the grocery store to pick up some things he remembered that Kate liked to eat. Than made his way back home and took a shower. He waited for her to call later that day, but she didn't. He watched the highlights of the latest Red Sox game and cursed at the score. The phone rang around six o'clock making him jump up and answer it. It wasn't Kate; it was his father, scolding him for taking the day off. He continued to wait, until the clock read 9:15, then he picked up the phone and dialed her number, sighing when he got her answering machine. He decided that maybe she just needed some time. He walked up to his bedroom, placing the phone on his end table and closing his eyes for the night.

He awoke the next morning, and got ready for work, trying to reach Kate again on his way to the hospital, still nothing.

Halfway into his day, he walked over to the front desk, his eyes caught a pretty brunette across the room, and he smiled walking over to her

"Kate, hey" He said causing her to turn around "Where have you been, I tried calling you last night?"

"I'm sorry, I was uh?" Kate tried to answer, her words getting caught somewhere

Jack raised his eyebrows at her, confused "Did something happen yesterday, are you okay?"

"I'm fine" She nodded "Can we talk Jack?"

He smiled "Yeah, I'm done here at 5, I can pick you up?"

Kate immediately shook her head "No, um I have to do this now"

Concerned Jack reached out and touched her arm "Kate, do what?"

"Can we go somewhere" She asked, fumbling over her words, and trying not to think about his warm palm on her skin

He nodded and led her into his office "What's going on Kate?"

Her green eyes were filled with tears, and she took a step closer to him "Jack, I can't do this"

"Do what?" He asked unsure

"Me and you, us, I can't do it" She told him, covering her mouth to stop the sob from flooding out

"What?" He asked, not wanting her to repeat it again, he took a step closer to her and placed his hands on her shoulders

"I'm sorry Jack, I thought I could but I can't, I'm so sorry" She cried

Jack ran a hand through his hair "Don't do this Kate, don't pull away from me, please"

"It's going to end bad Jack, I just think it's better to end it now" She said "You know save us both some hurt"

"This doesn't hurt you really?" He asked "Because it hurts me Kate"

Letting her first tear fall "Of course it hurts Jack" She told him "But I just…"

"Can't" He finished her sentence for her, seeing her nod sadly

Jack pulled away from her completely and walked to the other side of the room, turning his back to her. His pain being hidden by anger at this moment

"If you're going to leave Kate, then go and just leave me alone" He said keeping his tone neutral and refusing to look at her "But you can't ask me to watch you walk out"

She felt her voice get caught in her throat at how much she knew this was hurting him, but in long run she knew it was for the best.

She wiped her tear away and chocked out "Goodbye Jack"

He kept his back turned until her heard the door open and shut and he knew she was gone.

Standing still for a second before hurrying out into the hallway

"Kate" he mumbled under his breath as he watched her walk out the hospital doors

Letting out a breath he turned, spotting his father standing to his right, who'd obviously witnessed the scene, walking over to him

"Well Dad, you got what you wanted" He said "Are you happy now?"

Leaving before the older man had a chance to respond

* * *

It had been a few days since Kate ended things with Jack; he tried calling her a few times, but wasn't surprised when she didn't answer.

He went to work the next day, his mind set on finding out how she was doing. Before he checked any of his patience, he walked to Mark's office.

Finding his friend sitting in a chair buried in files and forms "Hey man, long day ahead huh?"

Looking up from his pages, he laughed "Jack, hey" He said "What's going on man?"

"I was wondering what you could tell me about the Austen's case." He said casually

Mark's head went down slightly "Well, I can't tell you anything man"

"Mark, come on man, I'm driving myself crazy here, can you just tell me if she's alright?" He pushed

"I don't know" He replied simply

Running his hand in his chopped hair "What do you mean you don't know, you're her doctor?"

He shook his head "Not anymore, I got a call from Mercy two days ago, asking for her file" He told Jack

"She changed Doctors man; she's not a patient at this hospital anymore"

* * *

Let me know what you think, more reviews comes faster updates.

:)


	16. Running Scared

Hey guys, thanks for the reviews. So this chapter is inspired by Private Practice this week actually, I've sort become obsessed with the show lately. Also the chapter is being posted today because high school teachers don't think they actually have to come to school, so with no class and decided to write an update for you, hahahaha. Hope you enjoy it! :)

* * *

He finished his shift, the words Mark said to him replaying in his head over and over again

_"She changed Doctors man; she's not a patient at this hospital anymore"_

He couldn't seem to figure them out, as much as he tried, he couldn't wrap his head around why she'd change hospitals, did she really not want to see him that bad? When she walked out earlier he figured they could be friends at the very least, but he was starting to think maybe she wanted to completely erase him from her life, pretend like nothing ever happen.

He shot his keys on the counter when he got home, peeling off his shirt he decided to take a shower, letting the water run down his face shedding himself of the stresses the day had come with and it felt good, for a minute his mind was completely relaxed but the moment he shut the water off, Kate came back to his mind.

He dressed and picked up the phone, dialing her number but sighed when she didn't answer, he tried again later that night, but got the same result so this time he left a message.

The next day he went into work, from the corner of his eye he spotted dark haired women at the elevator, on impulse he took a few steps towards her, but felt his heart sink when she turned around, it wasn't Kate.

On his lunch break he couldn't take it anymore and drove down to her house, the fence they painted together making him sad instead of happy this time. He knocked on her door and waited but nobody came, he knocked again and this time heard footsteps, just a few but the door never opened

"Kate, come on I know you're home, open the door" He said in the calmest voice he could muster

He stood on her porch for a short while, before knocking again "I'm on my lunch break Kate, I've got like 20 minutes, please open the door and talk to me" He sounded tired and defeated this time

The door opened slowly and Kate's pale face emerged from behind it "Jack, what are you doing here. I told you-"

She was interrupted by him "I'm just trying to figure you out because I have no idea what it is that you want?"

She opened her mouth to answer but he cut her off again "I mean why would you change hospitals, go to a lesser hospital, why Kate?"

"Where I go for treatment is really none of your business Jack" She answered flatly

Running a hand through his hair frustrated "It is if it's because of me, do you really hate me that much?"

"I don't hate you Jack, not even close" She answered in a whisper just loud enough for him to hear

He sighed heavily "You know when I met you I thought you were this incredibly brave person and you are, when it comes to jumping off boardwalks" He said, pausing "But when it comes to feelings, to being close to somebody, you're terrified Kate"

She bit down on her lip, and walked closer to him "You think you got me all figured out, you think you know who I am?" She spat out angrily

"I know you're running scared, I mean that's what you're doing isn't it?" He told her calmly

She didn't answer, instead she just backed away from him, they stayed silent for a long period of time, just standing Jack looking at her, trying to reach her somehow and Kate looking anywhere but him

Jack finally broke the silence "I ran track in high school" He said causing her head to snap up and met his eyes, hers were clouded with confusion "and I was, um I was pretty good"

He laughed softly "I'm telling you this because if you're going to run Kate, I'm going to chase you"

With that he left her alone, driving back to the hospital.

* * *

He spent the next week trying to distance himself from her, get her off his mind but every time he'd call and she wouldn't answer, his mind would race to the worst possible thing and not knowing if she was okay was making him crazy.

He took the day off and drove down to a little house and parked his car at the spot he'd parked it last time, and walked up to the porch, feeling nervous but he knocked anyways

The door opened, a blonde women coming into his view "What are you doing here?"

"Hi Miss Austen, I'm Jack Shephard I don't know if you remember me" He introduced himself

The women laughed lightly "Of course I do, you're Katie's friend right?"

"Right" He smiled shyly

She grabbed her purse "Listen I'm on my way to work, I don't have the time to-"

"I'll only take a moment of your time" Jack cut her off

The lady shook her head "I'm already late for work Mr. Shephard"

"I'll drive you, where do you work" He blurted out so quickly he couldn't stop the words if he wanted to "Please Miss Austen, just hear me out"

She stood there for a moment and then shut the door behind her "I work at the diner on Columbus, you know it?"

Jack nodded "Yes, Mam"

The women smiled and Kate flashed through his mind "It's Diane" The women said before getting in the car

They drove in silence for awhile until Jack decided to speak "Diane, your daughter is sick and she's scared to let people in her life, and I think you're a big part of that"

Diane shot him an angry look, and he took a deep breath and continued "I don't mean any disrespect, I just, is there any way you can go see her?"

" I haven't had a relationship with my daughter since she was a kid" She answered

"Look you know her condition, and she's alone Miss Austen, she won't let me help her, I honestly believe you are the only one she'll let close enough to help"

They didn't say anything else, they reached the diner and before she got out she said "What do you want from me Jack?"

"I want you to go see your daughter and I want you to be her mother" He answered simply

"Diane grabbed her purse and got out of the car "Thanks for the ride son" then closed the door and walked away

* * *

In the week following that Diane swallowed her pride and went over to Kate's house, just like Jack predicted, Kate took her in happily, that doesn't mean they didn't have their issues to work out but they were resolving them slowly, but still.

They were sitting at the kitchen table when the phone rang; Diane knew it was Jack from the heartbreaking look that appeared on her daughters face

"Why don't you answer it?" Diane asked bravely

Kate shook her head, trying to hide the emotion in her voice "Because it's over, I can't do it Mom"

Diane walked over to her daughter, taking her hands "He really does care about you, you know Katie, that boy is one of the good ones, he's what got me here"

She let a tear slid down her cheek "He thinks I'm running away"

Diane took a step back "Aren't you?"

* * *

Jack awoke to a knock at his door a week after, scrambling to pull his jeans on and get to the door while the person on the other side knocked repeatedly

"I'm coming, Jesus, hold on" He mumbled under his breath

Opening the door, the sunlight hit his eyes making him rub the sleep away, when he saw who was standing at his door however, he was wide awake

"Kate?" He said, not completely sure if he was just dreaming

She smiled nervously at him "Hey Jack, can I come in?"

He nodded, moving to let her in the house; they stood at the doorway staring at each other for a bit

"What are you doing here Kate?" He finally asked

Her green eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around herself, hesitating before whispering "I'm pregnant"

* * *

Dun, dun, dun so how's that for a cliffhanger, ;)

I won't updating for awhile because I'm going away for a week, but let me know what you think and if i get enough reviews, i'll update when I get back :)


	17. It Takes A Man

Hey guys, I'm sorry it took so long for the update, i took my laptop on a trip with me and it crashed, but here's the update, its a longer one. Hope you guys like it :)

* * *

_any fool can make her baby_

_It takes a man to raise a child. - Aaron Lines_

Jack stood frozen in his spot, he wanted to say something but his mouth wasn't working for him at the moment, and it was like his feet were stuck to the ground, "What?" he finally muttered out

Kate more confidently this time said, "I'm pregnant"

"I heard you" He added quickly, "Are you sure?"

The look on Kate's face changed from nervous to offended and he rephrased his question " I mean, have you seen a doctor yet?"

Deciding to let it go, she shook her head "No, I haven't but I was late so I bought a home pregnancy test and it was positive"

Jack was staring at the ground, his expression blank and his hand glued to the back of his head, Kate continued "But if you want me to see a doctor…"

Jack cut her off "No, no those things are pretty accurate"

"I just, didn't we use.." He started but this time is was Kate's turn to cut him off

"No we didn't Jack, it was kind of a heat of the moment thing" She said blushing

A light chuckle came from him as he nodded "Right"

"So what does this mean Kate?" Jack asked after a few minutes of silence

She shrugged and stepped forward "I don't know, I mean it's not like were together or anything"

"Yeah, well that was your choice" He spit out at her, his voice bitter and his eyes sad

Her heart sank a little at his words, but this wasn't about them right now, it was about this baby. Kate's eyes filled with tears and she walked over to Jack, taking his hand in hers "I can't have a baby Jack"

Jack pulled his hand away "Oh right, I almost forgot, of course you can't have a baby, just like you cant have a relationship, because well you're Kate and you can't have anything making you happy right?"

She wanted to be angry, she wanted to yell at him and tell that he had no idea what he was saying, but his voice was raw and his eyes were watery and she was just so tired of hurting him

She let yet another one slide, and tried to take another step towards him but he turned away "Jack, I don't even know if I could carry this baby to term" She paused "I can't have a baby Jack"

"Why not?" He asked simply

She closed her eyes and felt tears run down her cheek "Because I can't bring a baby into this life, and not know if I'm going to be around to raise it"

Jack's eyes softened and he walked over to her, pulling her into him and a tight hug, "I know our situation isn't ideal Kate, but can we just talk about this"

She pulled back and looked into his eyes, momentarily getting lost in the deep brown orbs, she barely heard his voice saying "Look, can we just take this by day, and if after the babies born you feel the same way…."

"..I'll take it, but I think the moment you feel it flutter, you're going to feel differently"

She whispered his name and stepped out of his embrace, running her hand through her brown curls "I didn't.." She stumbled, tears running down her cheek " I didn't expect you to say all that"

Jack raised his eyebrows "What does that mean Kate?"

"I called this morning, and made an appointment at the clinic for tomorrow" She said, swallowing the lump in her throat

Jack's stare was intense and she had to look away "You mean, to get rid of it, of the baby?"

Kate bit down on her lip, keeping the tears in and nodded slowly "I can't do this Jack, I'm so sorry"

His eyes were watery and he choked out his next words "Kate, if you're going to do this, I can't stop you" He swallowed hard and continued "Will you just promise me, you'll call me if you need anything"

She nodded sadly but said nothing, walked out of the door. She walked out of his life.

* * *

A few hours later, Jack called Mark, asked him if he wanted to come over to watch the game, since they were kids baseball, had been the one thing these two couldn't agree upon, Jack was a Red Sox fan and Mark had always been a Yankees guy, and tonight they were both playing which always caused a debate between the boys, and tonight Jack really needed to focus on anything but Kate and the baby, that neither of them would ever get to meet.

Mark was over there about an hour later, now the two were sitting on the couch, a beer in their hands and Mark desparately trying to hold on to the hope that the Yankees could still pull though and win this one

"No way man, you're done" Jack laughed

"No, no don't write them off that easy, A Rod can still turn this thing around" Mark said, inching closer to the edge of couch

When the came was done, Jack got up to get another beer, Mark following close behind bragging about the Yankees taking the win. Jack laughed it off and shot another beer at his friend to shut him up

"What's going on with you man, usually you'd be cursing A Rod up and down?" His friend asked "Is everything alright?"

"Kate came by this morning" He stated

Mark was a bit taken back "Kate?, I thought she broke it off?"

"She did, she came by because she had some news" He told his friend, his voice still flat

"Is she okay?" He asked

Jack nodded "She's pregnant"

His lifetime friend, nearly chocked on his beer, placing it down on the table he scrambled for words "What?"

"And she came by to tell me that she's getting rid of it, tomorrow morning" He added on, as if it was an after thought

Mark sat up straight "You're okay with that?"

"What am I supposed to do?" He replied "I mean, maybe its for the best anyway, I'd be a horrible father"

Shaking his head, Mark answered "When did you become you're father man?"

"Thinking that the only thing you could ever be good at is being in that dame hospital, I think that Kate and that baby represent everything you want and I think you're an idiot if you just let that go"

* * *

The next morning, at 8:15, Kate sat alone in the clinic, there were other people in the room, other women, most of them had someone by there sides, holding their hands, boyfriends, mothers even friends, Kate was the only one who was completely alone.

The nurse came around, placing a soft hand on Kate's shoulder

"Hey Sweety, can you fill these out for me?" She asked with a smile

Kate nodded, and the nurse told her when she was done just to bring them over. Taking a deep breath she began to fill out the form, bringing it to the nurse when she was finished.

At 8:30, fifteen minutes before her appointment was scheduled , her cellphone rang.

Fumbling around in her purse to find it, she quickly flipped it open "Hello?"

* * *

There's the chapter. So who's on the phone? Will Kate go through with it?

The next chapter is already almost finished, so if i get enough reviews, i'll update tommorow. :)


	18. We'll Make It

Hey guys, thanks for the reviews, they mean alot. I promised you guys an update today, so here it is. Hope you enjoy it :)

* * *

_Fumbling around in her purse to find it, she quickly flipped it open "Hello?"_

"Kate, hey" The voice came through the line, panicked and out of breath

"Jack, what's going on?" She asked, reconizing who it was

"Please, tell me that it isn't over yet?" He asked, his voice shaky

Kate played along, "No Jack, I'm up next" She told him "Why are you calling?"

She heard him let out a breath followed by "Kate, can you just walk over to the door of the clinic"

"What, Jack why?" She asked, insanly confused by their current conversation

"Please Kate" He pleaded

She sighed heavily into her phone, and grabbed her purse walking over to the door of the clinic. When she reached the door, it was hard to see throught the writting on it, she opened it slightly, and when she did she heard her name being called "Kate"

Looking to the parking lot, she saw Jack standing by his car, snaping her phone shut she walked down the stairs and he met her halfway "Jack, what are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you" He replied calmly

"How did you know which clinic to look at?" She asked, the idea of him going to every clinic in that area of LA, seemed ridiculous to her

"I called your mom, she told me" He said, taking a step closer to her

He walked over to the stairs, sitting on the bottom one and patting the space beside him "So can we talk?"

She shook her head "Jack, I'm going to miss them call my name"

"Kate, please if you ever cared about me at all, you'll just hear me out" He said, the first emotional sentence he'd spoken since he got there

Knowing she couldn't walk away from him now, she sat down beside him, their knees touching lightly because of the lack of space on the step

"I don't want you to do this Kate" He said after a moment, he said it quietly

"Jack, do you honestly think this can work, I mean have you really thought about what this means?" She asked

Jack intertwined his hands on his knees "I'm not saying that it's going to be easy Kate, but I'm willing to try because I want everything this baby means"

"..You told me you wanted a family of your own, can you look me in the eyes and tell me you're okay with throwing that chance away?" He continued

Kate wrapped her arms around her small frame and shook her head, when her tears fell, she felt Jack wrap his arms around her, and she settled her head on his shoulder. He let her cry for a while knowing she needed to feel this to be okay with whatever decision she made, after moments he spoke "I never believed I'd be any good at being a father, but Kate, you make me want to be better, we can do this" He said, taking a break to kiss her hair softly "Please, give us a chance to try"

He felt her nod into his shoulder, and then she pulled away from him, stood and picked up her bag. Jack stood with her, his heart pounding in his chest, this could go two ways, she could walk to his car or she could walk back in the clinic, he didnt have the slightest idea what she was thinking. He couldn't stop the smile from appearing on his face when she spoke next

"I'm sort of humgry, do you think we can go talk somewhere with food?"

Jack chuckled "Of course"

* * *

They drove until they found a little dinner on the side of the road, then they stopped to eat. They ordered their food and waited for it to come, nothing was said. Their plates came and Kate wasn't lying when she said she was hungry, she finished hers off fast. They both finished eating and Jack decided to say something.

"So what does this mean?" He asked

"It means, I think we both deserve a chance to make this work" She smiled

He nodded his head, taking a drink from his cup "Make _this_ work, meaning the baby, meaning me and you, what?"

"I don't think I can handle anything but the baby right now Jack, If you have a problem with that, please tell me now" She said, her voice said but determined

Jack looked out the window for a while, then back at Kate, he wanted them both but if this was what she had to offer now then he accepted that "Okay" He whispered

"Okay" She repeated his words

"So how is this going to work?" Jack asked

Kate laughed a little "You're the one who convinced me we could do this, you tell me Jack"

He smiled sweetly at her "I mean, I don't think it's safe for you to be staying by yourself at your place"

Kate sighed "Well my mom is actually staying with me"

"Oh" He said softly "Well you could both come stay at my place, there's alot of room"

"Jack" She warned

"Pkease Kate, just humour me" He chuckled

"Fine" She said

Then they paid the bill and headed over to Kate's house to see her mother.

* * *

They got to Kate's house, and walked in together. When her mother saw Jack, she shot him a smile that went unnoticed by Kate. Diane made a pot of coffee and they all sat down together, Kate telling her mother the events of the day, and Diane expression her joy that Kate didn't go throught with it. When Jack had called her that morning she didn't know what he had planned but she'd hoped to see them both here like this afterwards, and he didnt let her down.

Kate told her mother about Jack's offer to have them both stay there and she repectively declined, but encouraged Kate to take him up on the offer. Kate decided it was probably a good idea, and excused herself to go pack some things she'd need.

"You know, you really don't have to feel like you're intruding or something" Jack said after Kate was upstairs "You'll welcome to stay at my place"

Diane walked over and drapped her arms around Jack "Thank you Jack" She said before pulling away "But you gave me back my relationship with my daughter"

"You did that on your own Diane" He intruded

The older women shook her head "You woke me up Jack, so now I'm going to give you the chance to get yours back"

She winked at him and smiled, before grabbing her purse and opening the door "Tell Katie, i'll call her later"

Then she was gone.

* * *

There it is, So Diane's rootin for Jack ;), and Jack and Kate are going to be friends, having a baby. They can do that right? ;)

Next Chapter: The move in :)

Leave me a review!


	19. Heartbeats

Okay, so I was sort of frustrated with the lack of Jate, and I couldn't seem to write this update, then i watched the candidate, and it inspired me again. so here's the nest chapter, hope you guys like it. ; )

Today was a big day for him, a big day for her and a bigger to for them. It was the day that Kate was going to start moving in to his house, that had been just his for so long, and now in less than 8 months this was going to be a home, with little foot and hand prints everywhere. She called and said she'd be there around 2, so he had some time. He headed to the grocery store to pick up a few things. When he returned he parked his car in the drive way and walked up to the stairs, grocery bags in his hand, when he got to the door he realized he had a visitor.

"Mark, hey" He said "What are you doing here?"

The man laughed "Well the last time i checked my best friend lived here" he joked

Jack chuckled and motioned for him to come inside, he set the bags on the counter and shot a beer at his friend "So what brings you by man?"

Mark shrugged "Today's the big day right?" He asked "Came by to offer you two a hand"

Jack nodded with a thankful smile. The two talked awhile, drinking their beers at the counter. Mark brought up the idea of where the baby was going to sleep when it was born. Kate was taking the guest room, and Jack thought about it for a minute before walking up the stairs, to a room he hadn't been in, in a while. He opened the door to a medium sized room, there was nothing in it now, except for the piano.

"We could make this the nursery" He said to his friend beside him

"What are you going to do with the piano?" Mark asked

Jack shrugged his shoulders "Move it, Sell it..." He trailed

Mark walked over to it and looked back at Jack "Isn't this your dad's piano?"

Jack nodded firmly, biting his lip, the last thing he wanted to talk about was his father, they haven't spoken since that day in the hospital, he didn't even know about the baby or Kate moving in, he didn't need to know.

Mark sensing the frustration of the situation, let it go and picked a new topic "What are you going to do about the walls?"

Jack looked around "What do you mean?"

His friends face mushed up as he looked at them "There gross man, what color is that anyways?"

Jack shook his head with a smile "It's like a custard or something, it's good it's unisex, boy or girl right?"

Mark walked over to the wall, touching it with his finger "That's not custard man, that's like, like puke"

He bit back a laugh as he replied with "It's not that bad ,Mark"

Mark walked back to Jack, putting his hand on his shoulder "Jack, come on if i puked on this wall, you'd never know the difference"

Jack finally broke down and laughed "Yeah, you're right, it's ugly"

Mark nodded "I guess we're going to need some paint"

* * *

When Kate got to Jack house, she noticed Mark's car on the side of the road and walked in the house to see them, watching baseball highlights and having another beer.

"Hey boys, you wanna stop watching sports, and come help me?" He asked, laughing

They both turned around to see her, Jack smiled and got up to grab the bags she had in her hands "Hey" He said

"Hey, yourself" she smiled, and then looked at the two men in front of her "There's more boxes in the trunk"

They brought in all the boxes that she had in her trunk, and piled them along the wall, deciding they could always bring them to the room later on. Kate poured them both a glass of water when they brought the last of the things in

"What have you two been doing all day?" She asked

Jack looked over at her, she looked beautiful in old sweat pants and a plain blue t-shirt, he forced the thought from his head and said "I went to get some groceries, and listened to Mark complain about my walls" he laughed

Mark let her in on the horridness of that room, and she laughed. After an hour of talking Mark decided he'd better get back home, with goodbyes said, they were alone again.

"So who helped you pack up?" Jack asked

Kate smiled "Don't worry i didn't do it alone, my mom helped me"

There was a silence that fell between them, and they just watched each other, not really knowing what to say next. Kate decided to speak first

"I have an appointment today, just to make sure everything is okay" She told him

Jack smiled "You do?, you're about 7 weeks along, you might hear the heartbeat"

Kate's eyes sparkled at his words, she hadn't realized how excited that could make her, hearing their babies heartbeat "Really, already?"

Jack nodded, he had no idea where they stood with one another, or with the baby, they hadn't talked to much about it "Kate, do you think I could come?"

She smiled "Of course you can come, it's your baby too", She didn't know it, but she'd been waiting for him to ask her that for weeks.

* * *

Later that day at the hospital, they brought them into the room, Kate layed down on the bed and answered the questions they asked her. Then her doctor came in, wearing a serious expression on his face

Kate gulped when she saw him and realized that Jack still didn't know about the complications, she had asked Mark not to tell him.

"How are you today Kate?" He asked and listened to her response, then he looked over at Jack "You must be the father, it's nice to meet you"

Jack shook his hand, and nodded in agreement "Jack Shephard" He offered

"Well Kate am here to talk to you about the complications of this pregnancy involving you're condition" He started

Kate's face changed and she reached for Jack's hand, glad that he was there with her, they listened intently "The Arrhythmia could be potentially dangerous, but I'm not worried about that right now" He said, Jack looked down at Kate with a curious look, her eyes told him she'd explain later, they listened to the doctor continue

"Now, the cardiomyopathy is what i am most concerned about at the time, now because you have such a rare form, it's safe to say that were worried about peripartum cardiomyopathy setting in"

"What's that?" She asked, her voice shaky

"It's a form of cardiomyopathy found only in women, that are in their last trimester of pregnancy or sometimes within the six months before delivery" He explained

Jack stepped in this time "What does it mean exactly" His tone was raw and emotional and nothing like the professional doctor voice she'd heard so many times

"It's believed to be an autoimmune disease, which means the body attacks it's own tissues" He answered "Now the uterus, very much like the heart is made of muscles, in some cases proteins from it leaks into the mother's bloodstream, now some women develop antibodies against these proteins, which causes the antibodies to attack the heart cells, which can make the heart muscles weaken and dilate" He finished

Kate grasp on Jack's hand got increasingly tighter, and he rubbed his thumb over her palm to soothe her, before he spoke again "So what's the course of treatment"

"It's normally treated with a combination of medications and a lot of bed rest" He tells him

Jack nods, and Kate doesn't say anything, it's quiet for a minute as they try to swallow all this, the doctor then gives them a small smile "Let's see how the baby's doing, alright?"

Kate gives him a shy nod, and watched as he puts the cold jelly on her stomach, Jack looks at the screen, their hands still grasped together

"Do you wanna hear the heartbeat?" The doctor asks with a smile, receiving a nod from both of them

Suddenly, they hear it, and all that stuff the doctor said before was just gone, for a moment there were no complications, there was simply Jack, Kate and that beautiful, steady heartbeat.

Hit the button. : )


	20. Yellow Paint

A few weeks later, Kate was suddled in at Jack's. She knew where the plates and cups were, and which closet had the towels, Her toothbrush was in the bathroom and their was a spare key under the welcome mat at the front door. Since the doctors appointment she'd been on strict bed rest, doctors orders, and by doctor she mostly meant Jack, he'd been pretty protective and sometimes she found it cute and indering, and sometimes it made her crazy. This morning, it was more of the second option.

"Kate, what are you doing?" Jack asked as he came into the kitchen, early in the morning

She bite her lip as she turned around, like she'd been caught stealing something " I want coffee" she whined

Jack couldnt help but smile at how cute she looked pouting on the counter, she was wearing one of his shirts because apparently she was showing, Jack knew she wouldn't really start to show for another 8 weeks or so but he kept his mouth shut and lent her the shirt, he smiled "Coffee's not good for you"

Kate shighed "I know that I shouldn't drink it, but that makes me crave it"

He chuckled and poured her some juice and handed it to her, then poured himself some "Here, I'll have some with you okay"

She smiled at the gesture and sipped the juice, moments later she hopped off the counter and walked, fast over to the bathroom, the morning sickness had been bad but it was supposed to have died down by now, Jack was a little worried that it seemed to have gotten worse, he followed her into the bathroom

She was on her knees, her hand placed on the sides of the toilet, and her other hand holding up her head, as if she couldnt keep it up without it, Jack walked in and knelt down beside her, rubbing her back with one hand in soft motions, his other hand gently taking her hair out of her face and tucking loose strands behind her ear. When she was finished, she fell back onto him, he straightened up, so her head was on his chest, hand still rubbing her back "You feel better?" He whispered

She nodded against him, and he helped her to her feet "You should really go lay down, Kate"

She threw her head back "I've been laying down for weeks Jack, I've memorized that room and I can tell you who's cheating on who in every soap opera on television, I can't do it anymore" She told him, with complete and udder frustration

He smiled "Look, I know it's has got to suck for you, but i'm just trying to do what the doctor said here"

"I know, It's just, jesus we used to have fun together, and now it's like everytime I see you, it's about the baby and it's complications and doctors, and I understand that it's important but Jack, I'm still here" She ranted, whipping away some hair in her face

He gave her a small smile and nodded "Okay, I have to go to my parents house and then we can just hang out together tonight okay?"

She nodded "Okay"

* * *

On the way to his parents house, he thought about what Kate had said, what did that mean, she's still there? He'd always thought he was pretty good at reading people but when it came to her, he had no idea, she made his headspin and maybe that's why he was so drawn to her, he shook it off. He planned on going to the house he grew up in to let his mother and father know what was happening in his like, Kate moving in and the baby.

He pulled into the driveway and walked inside, finding his mom in the kitchen "Hey Mom"

"Jack, hey what brings you by?" She said with a smile, stopping what she was doing and kissing his cheek, before he could answer his father walked in, they enchanged nods and Jack looked back to his mother

"I wanted to talk with you, about what's going on lately" He said

Margo looked at her son, and placing a hand on his shoulder, and guiding him over to the table, Christian lerking over them

"Kate, she moved in with me a few weeks ago" He said, needing to get it out in the open

Margo smiled and Christian spoke "Jack, I warned you not to get involved with that girl, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that I'm, tired, of listening to you Dad" He spat back

"Jack, I'm only trying to pro.." He trailed, but Jack cut him off

Shaking his head and standing up "No, Dad you were trying to protect yourself, you don't know anything about her" He said "If you did, you'd know that she's smart, and she makes me laugh, she's amazing" He trailed, thinking about her and he forgot what he's point was to start with, and a smile spread over his face

His father went to speak, but Jack waved his hand "I don't know why I'm even here, I'm leaving"

He started to walk away, and Margo stood when he was out of sight "Was that really neccessary?"

"He doesn;t know what he's getting himself into" Christian said

"Maybe not, but he cares about her, so let him make his own mistakes, Christian" She smiled before leaving the man there to think about it

* * *

That night after supper, him and Kate rented a movie, they sat together on the sofa and watched, half way throught when Jack looked over to where Kate was sitting, she was fast asleep, he watched her for a little bit, she was beautiful, her face relaxed, her freckled perfectly spread over her face, her tummy rising and falling in a soft motion, her mouth slightly open releasing the quietest snore, he smiled wondering if their baby was going to be like her, he hoped so

He stood up, turning off the movie and placing the blanket over her, leaving the lamp on incase she awoke, he didnt want to spook her and then he walked upstairs

When Kate woke up around five oclock the next morning, she smiled at the blanket around her and stood up to stretch then walked up the stairs to go to her room. On the way there she noticed that the door was open to the room that they were going to make the babies nursery, curiously she peeked inside, what she saw made a smile appear on her face

Jack was still in the clothes he had on the night before, sitting up in a chair in the corner, fast asleep. She smiled and looked around, realizing their was paint and brushes on the ground near him and the walls were no longer that ugly "puke" color but instead they were the softest yellow she'd ever seen.

**Hit the button. :)**


	21. Wildflower

yeah, I'm updating again today because I don't want tommorow to come, so my plan is if i don't sleep it won't, you know like Santa or someting, LOL.

About 7 weeks after that, the doctors said that the baby looked great and she should keep taking the medication and, of course bed rest but that she was doing everything right. During those 7 weeks, Kate meet Jack's sister Claire and her little boy, they got along right from the start and they conviced Jack to let Kate out of bed now and then when she came over.

"Jack, look at this" Kate said sitting up from the bed, she lifted her shirt over her belly button, making a bump motion with her hand over her skin

He laughed and nodded "You're actually starting to show a bit now"

She scrunched up her nose and looked at him, hands on her hips "What does that mean, Jack?"

He did a double take, and bit his lip smiling "I just mean that...well" He stopped thinking carefully about his next words "This is a trick question, isn't it?"

She rolled her eyes, "It's okay, I know, I look like a hippo" She sighed out, and they both laughed at her big exageration

He stood up and walked over to her, ticking her nose lightly with his finger "Well, a very cute hippo" he joked and she couldn't help but laugh a little

Later that day, Jack came into the bedroom with a box and some paper that was stuck on a hard covered book, Kate eyed him curiously

"What's that?" She asked

He sat down beside her on the bed, placing what he had in his hands in front of them, he looked over at her and said "You like to paint right?"

She nodded, laughing "You where really listneing that day"

"Of course I was" He smiled

She locked her eyes with his for a moment then spoke "So what's this for, we're going to paint"

He laughed and handed her some things, once they both had a paper they set the paint in the middle of them, a little while later Kate turned her page around, she told Jack that she painted herself, he laughed when he saw that her page had a purple hippo painted on it, he told her to hang on and let him paint his own picture now

He finished his and kept it from her, so he could explain it first "I thought i'd draw you too, what I see when I think about you"

He turned his page around and it was a flower, it was yellow and pink and in the picture it was in a field, all alone, nothing else around it, Kate smiled at Jack's painting talents, he had about as much as a kindergarden student, but she smiled up at him

"You see a flower?" She asked, confused

"I see a wildflower" He corrected her, "You're different Kate, and that's what makes you beautiful"

She knew that he probably just drew that to make her feel better, and it didn't mean anything but to her, that horribly panited little flower meant alot.

* * *

The next day, Jack had to go into work, he hated leaving Kate there alone but she insisted that she'd been fine, which he translated into her getting out of bed while he was gone

He had an early surgery that morning, and after a exhausting surgery, the patient lived and that always made it worth it in the end. He walked back to his office and when he opened the door, he had a visitor

"Mom, what are you doing here?" He asked

She smiled "I came to talk to you actaully, do you have time to talk?"

"Does dad know your here?" He felt the need to ask

She shook her head "This doesn;t concern your father Jack, it's about my relationship with you"

He sat down in front of his mother "Okay, what's on your mind?"

"The real question is what's on yours?, you looked like he wanted to tell us something when you came over that day" She explained, and Jack laughed bitterly "Well, Dad never really wanted to hear it" He asnwered

"I do" She replied with a shy smile "How are things with Kate?"

"They're good" He answered simply, then added "She's pregnant Mom, about 14 weeks now"

She looked surprised at first, but then she smiled and stood to give her son a warm hug "I'm happy for you" She whispered as she kissed his cheek

He smiled "You mean that?" he asked and she nodded

"Do you think I could come over for dinner one night, meet her?" She asked smiling

Jack sighed heavily "Of course" He said "I'd say invite Dad along, but he won't come, so I'll see you soon"

Margo wrapped her arms tightly around her son, "Thank you Mom" He told her, wrapping his own arms around her

* * *

That night when he got home, he told Kate about what happen with his mother that dad and about how succesful the surgery went and she pretending that she'd been in bed all day. He told her that he was going to make them some supper, but he came back up to the room with a basket in one hand and a shirt drapped over his shoulders

"What's all that?" She laughed

"I know that you hate staying in bed all day, so before I left the hospital today, I took the next two days off, Kate I'm officially suffering ned rest with you" He explained to her with a small smile

The smile on her face grew "What if I don't want to share my bed with you?" She asked, winking at him

"Well, then you don't get what's in the basket" He smiled, holding it up

She pushed over laughing "Okay, I guess you can come in, but you better not snore"

He laughed, climbing in the bed beside her, giving her the basket, which was full of food so they wouldn't have to get out of bed. They layed there talking about anything that came to their minds for a long while, Kate then put her hand on her stomach, looking over at Jack, as if feeling her eyes on him he turned his head to look at her

"What do you think it's doing right now?" Kate asked,

Jack thought about it, "Well it's still growing right now, it's not doing much of anything"

She smiled "What else?" She asked, she wanted to know everything about this baby, and she felt herself falling more in love with it everyday

"At this stage, the baby's toes and fingers are starting to seperate, and if you could look into your stomach right now, you'd probably see it opening and closing it's little fists" His said, his voice was dreamy like he couldn't belive that the baby he was talking about was his

They layed there together, Kate hanging onto to every word Jack said, and eventually thinking about what their baby was doing at this very moment, they drifted asleep.

Hit the Button.


	22. Ballet or Baseball

Another update, has anyone else not been able to stop thinking about lost 24/7?, I know, I can't stop, it's like the losties let go, why can't I? lol. anyways I'm going to try to update faster, so I can wrap the story up by the time I start exams. hope you guys like it.

As promised Jack spent the whole first day on bedrest with Kate, which made him understand why she hated it so much, it was long with the two of them, so he imagined that by herself it was far worse. They talked all day and by the afternoon they covered everything and didn't know what else to talk about, so they fell asleep together, Jack's fingers rested on Kate's increasing belly, and when they woke up the next morning, they were still firmly placed there.

Now it was around 2 in the afternoon on the second day, they were laughing about how bad they would smell to anyone who hasn't been in bed for 38 hours straight

"Look at us, middle of the day, doing nothing" Jack said, tilting his head to look at Kate

She smiled, patting her belly "Pfft, what are you talking about, I'm carrying a baby" She said "You are the one doing nothing" She laughed

He chuckled, and when he did, they both heard the doorbell ring, sitting up in the bed he looked over at Kate "Who is that?" She asked,

Jack looked confused, but only for a second and then he replied "My Mom, I forgot she was coming over today for lunch, to meet you remember"

Kate nodded, and Jack went downstairs to open the door, breaking the bedrest hours they were adding up together.

"Hey Mom" He said as he opened the door to let her inside

She gave him a kiss on the cheek, and smiled "Did you forgot that I was coming over today Jack, you look like you just got out of bed"

He laughed "I did, me and Kate have been on bedrest for awhile"

She smiled but didn't ask any more questions " So where is the girl, that managed to get you out of that hospital to stay home in bed with her?" She asked

Jack smiled "She's still upstairs, do you want me to go get her?"

Margo shook her head, "No, no she is supposed to stay in bed right, let's just go up there to her"

They walked into the room, and Kate was propped up with a pillow, looking through a book that was placed on her lap, Margo greeted her with a soft "Hey there"

She smiled at the women "Hi, Ms. Shephard"

With a wave of her hand she said "You can call me Margo, dear"

Kate nodded and the women spoke again "So how are you feeling Kate?"

"I have good days and bad days, today is a good one" She told her

The women smiled "Jack better be taking good care of you, and my grand baby"

Kate looked over at Jack, who was sitting in a chair across from the bed and smiled "He does, I think taking care of people is sort of in his blood"

The all laughed, Jack explained that the pregnancy was high risk because of Kate's heart condition and that they were taking every procaution to prevent anything from happening to her or the baby. Deciding they needed a lighter subject, Margo pulled out a black book from her bag, flipping it over on the bed between her spot on the edge and where Kate was sitting

"What's this?" She asked, smiling

The women smiled, "There aren't a whole lot of pictures of Jack when he was younger, but the one's he let me take are all in there"

Kate smiled widely and laughed "This is Jack baby album" She said, more of a statement, than another question

Jack stood from the chair, and ran his hand through his hair "Mom, I'm sure that she really doesn't want to see this"

Kate waved him off "Are you kidding, I want to see this!"

He sighed heavily, as the two women in front of him opened the book. The first page was of baby Jack, Kate thought he couldn't have been older than 3 months, she smiled at how that tiny little boy grew up into the steardy man that she knew

"Look how small you are Jack" She smiled, and he walked closer to them, leaning over the bed to see the picture, he let out a breathy chuckle

They went though a few more pages, the women making little comments on every page, and Jack shaking his head, embarressed

They came to a page, the picture in the middle was a 4 year old Jack, he was wearing a stripped shirt and dirty blue jeans,

"Awe, you were so cute Jack, what happen?" Kate laughed,

"Funny" He replied, and she pointed to the picture again, making him look down at it

She smiled "Look at your Beatle- like hair"

He giggled "To be fair, I had nothing to do with that one, that was all my mother"

Margo laughed "Oh, it wasn't that bad Jack"

Kate and Jack just looked at one another and laughed

The next one was of Jack and Christian, they were sitting on a hospital bed, Jack's eyes were red and puffy but he was smiling, Jack looked away when he saw the picture, his hands on his hips

"That's one of the only one's of him and his father" Margo said to Kate

Jack snorted "Who's fault was that"

Kate decided to speak next "You have a cast on your arm, what happen?"

Jack spoke before his mother could say anything, his back was to them and his voice was thick and harsh "I fell off my bike, probably because my father wasn't around to teach me how to ride it"

Margo said his name, her tone took on a warning sound, and Jack turned around to face her "After all these years, aren't you tired Mom, of making excuses for him" He spit out bitterly, and left the room, leaving the two women only

Margo looked back at Kate "What does he mean by that Margo?, why isn't his father here right now?" Kate asked, her voice sad

"My husband is a very complicated man Kate, but no matter what Jack believes he loves our son very much" The older women told her

Kate smiled sadly "Maybe Jack needs to know that"

* * *

The next week, they both needed to get out of bed because Kate had an early doctor's appointment to make sure everything was going alright with the baby and with Kate. The had the routine down pat, talk to the lady at the desk, go into the room, answer the questions the nurse asks you and wait for the doctor, it was same everytime.

When the doctor walked in he asked how you were feeling and explained what was going to happen, today was no different.

He walked in wearing dark blue scrubs and his white coat, sat at the chair beside the bed she was laying on, Jack stood behind her, and they listened as he spoke

"We asked you to come in today simply because you're about 18 weeks along, it's a standard ultrasound" He said, trying to soothe her worries

He checked a few things on his paper and then continued "You're baby should be almost 7 ounces at this stage, and it's heart is developped at this point, the ultrasound is so if there is any signs of potential defects, we can catch it now and try to prevent anything serious from occuring, ok?"

Kate nodded, swollowing hard, and once again just like before, reached for Jack's hand as the doctor sqirted the jelly on her belly and checked out there baby, when they saw the baby on the screen, she tilted her head up to see Jack's face, they were both smiling, and Jack squeezed her hand reassuringly

"Everything look good, the babies procressing normally, heartbeat is strong" The doctor told them happily, like he hadn't gevin such good news that day

"This is always a scary time to visit, but the good part is that, at this many weeks we can tell you what the gendre of your baby will be" He said with a smile

Jack smiled wider, and Kate's sort of faded "What if we don't want to know?"

Jack looked down at her "I want to know, you don't?" He asked, confused

She shook her head, and looked at the doctor "Can you just tell him after I leave the room, is that ok?"

The doctor smiled "Of course, this actually happens often, one does and one doesnt"

She smiled, and let go of Jack's hand to get off the bed, and leave the room, once she was gone, Jack walked over to the doctor, and listened while he told him if he was going to be going to ballet lessons or little league games.

Why doesn't Kate want to know?, and Jack is tense about his father, can Kate get him to loosen up? ;), I'm going to try and update tomorrow.

Tell me what you think. : )


	23. Kicking and Screaming

I promised you an update today, here it is. I decided I was going to be mean and not tell if the baby is a boy or a girl, until probably the next chapter, ; )

Two weeks had gone by, and Jack was back at work, but today he didn't have a surgery until the afternoon, so they stayed in bed for the morning. He got up to get them both a drink and Kate her medication, when he walked back into the room, she was sitting up on the bed, pillow tucked behind her head, and his photo album on her lap

"Would you stop looking at that" He laughed, and sat down beside her

She smiled at him "I'm trying to figure out what our baby will look like"

He touched her belly "Don't babies all look the same" He said, which earned him a slap on the shoulder, making him chuckle

"You know, you've changed since you were younger, but one thing is still the exact same" She told him, her voice taking on a serious tone

He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her "Oh yeah, and what's that?"

She looked down at the picture and back up and him, a smile on her face "Those eyes, you still have those big brown eyes that can make anyone feel safe"

They gazed at each other, nobody saying anything, Jack's hand still on her stomach and she whispered "I hope our baby has your eyes"

His eyes never left hers, and his thumb started rubbing circles on her stomach, he wasn't sure but he thought she tilted her head more towards him, and he gulped, looking into her green eyes, he didn't know what she wanted from him, but he took a chance, and lifted his other hand to her face, placing his warm palm on her cheek, and she leaned into him, he moved his face a little bit closer, stopping to look at her expression seeing the content feeling in her eyes, he moved forward the rest of the way, until his lips touched hers softly, barely. He waited for her reaction and he soon got one, she pulled his bottom lip into her mouth, and his hand slid from her cheek and got tangled in her hair, her tongue came next, begging for entrance at his lips, he let her in, tasting her and moved his body so he was sort of hovering her, they continued to kiss, and her hands slid under his shirt, running up his chest, and taking the shirt with her, until they needed to break the kiss to pull it over his head, then it was his turn to pull her over sized shirt over her head, he kissed her shoulder when it was off, and made a trail with his lips down her chest, to her stomach, placing one soft kiss on the belly, and looking back up at her

"Jack, is this safe, it won't hurt the baby will it?" She whispered

He kissed her neck, and shook his head against it, she pulled back, keeping her hands on his shoulders, so she could see him "How do you know it won't?"

He chuckled, "I'm a doctor Kate, it's fine"

She smiled and brought his face back down to kiss him again, they touched and kissed for a little while and then Jack jumped up "Did you feel that?"

Kate laughed out loud, and Jack smiled, placing his hand on her belly, and he felt it again, a little pump, then again "Kate, that's our baby, it's kicking!" He said happily, laughing as he spoke

They spent the next hour, talking about the how it felt to finally feel their baby for the first time, and what they were doing before it kicked, was forgotten.

* * *

Three weeks later, it was mid day and Jack was at the hospital in some crazy surgery that lasted hours on end, and Kate was thankful that Margo and Jack's sister Claire came over to visit her, she hadn't been feeling her best these past few days but she didn't tell Jack, she didn't think he needed to worry about it, it was nothing.

She was telling Claire about the ultrasound a few weeks before, Margo was downstairs making them something to eat.

"Why didn't you want to know?" Claire asked

Kate shrugged "Honestly, I'm terrified because once I know what it is, once it's not just a baby anymore but it's my son or my daughter, then I'm going to fall in love with it, and I'm so scared of that"

Claire simply nodded "I know how you're feeling, I was scared too when I had Aaron, I was going to give him up, and then the doctor told me it was a boy and I couldn't walk away from him"

Claire touched Kate's arm "You're going to be okay, Kate"

She nodded

Margo came back up, and the three of them ate, and talked for another hour, all of the sudden Kate started to feel a little bit dizzy, her breathing became hitched and she clenched her chest tightly, the room was spinning and she barely heard Claire's voice ask her if she was alright, a face came above her, but her vision was blurry and she couldn't tell who it was anymore, her head fell to the pillow, and she mumbled out in a shaky breath "Call Jack"

Then she heard a voice say "There is no time to call him, we need to get her to the hospital, he's there, we'll tell him then"

And then she didn't hear anything after that, she went black.

They rushed to the hospital and someone met them with a stretcher at the doors, Kate was in and out of it now, she saw people crowding her and then she saw nothing at all, then she saw a man, he was tall and his hair was grey, she blinked and remembered, he was the man from the picture, he was Jack's father.

As she drifted back into the dark, she heard Margo's voice say "Christian, go find your son, and get him down here"

It went dark but she knew she'd be okay, because Jack was coming.

Tell me what you guys think, I'll try to update by Wednesday or Thrusday, if I get some reviews. : )


	24. A Choice

**author's note:**yeah, i know that i'm a day late with posting this update, but blame that the teachers who give last minute projects, lol. I think the chapter is a pretty big one so i didnt want to mess it up,Here it is a day late, hope you guys enjoy it.

Jack was in the OR, the same room and the same four walls that he'd been in since 9 am this morning. By now his hands were deep in a patients back, covered in their blood, as people passed him the things he asked for, and he proceeded on what he was doing, he felt like he had done this so many times, he barely thought about it anymore, like a rubex-cube, it was difficult at first, but once you do it once, you could do it again no problem. Jack knew everything that was going on inside that room, and he knew how to fix it, what he didn't know was, what was going on a few floors beneath him.

Christian raced back up the stairs of the hospital, reaching Jack's office, he swung the door open and swore under his breath when he saw it was empty. Walking back over to the main desk, he smiled at the lady standing in the back of it "Kelly, do you know where Jack is right now?"

Kelly looked over a chart and replied with "He's still in surgery"

Christian sighed heavily, what was he supposed to do now "What OR is he in?", the women looked puzzled and so he repeated the question again, she answered with a weak 4, and the man was off again.

When he reached the room, he saw through the little window on the door that Jack was right in the middle of the procedure, going to the scrub in room, he washed his hands and pulled on a mask.

The door swung open and Jack only had the time to look up for a second, a puzzled look underneath his own mask "Dad, what are you doing here?"

Christian sighed, and spoke softly "There's a women who just came into the emergency room, and she's pregnant"

Jack shook his head, his mind to pre- occupied to know who his father was speaking of "Does she have spinal injuries, why you telling me this?"

The man shook his head "It's Kate, Jack"

For the first time since 9 am this morning, Jack's hands stopped. "What?, Is she okay? What happen?" The questions flowed out of his mouth without a breath

His father shrugged a little "I don't know exactly what happen, she was in and out of conciseness when I saw her"

He felt like the room was spinning around, as he looked down at his hands, to him this was just a patient laying on the table but to somebody he was their _Kate_, their child. Right then he realized the decision his father had to make everyday when Jack was growing up, stay and save the life of somebody elses child or leave and be with your own, he looked back down at the man exposed on the table, and when he looked back up Christian knew what his choice was

"Get out of here, I'll finish this for you" He told his son

Jack pulled off the mask, gave his dad a weak smile before pulling off the blood gloves and left the room. When he got downstairs, he scanned the room for a familiar face, he found his mother within minutes

"Mom, what is going on here?" He asked,puffed out and his heart beating through his chest, he touched her shoulder to get her attention

She turned around, and flung her arms around him tightly "I don't know what happen Jack, we were just talking and then all of the sudden she passed out, I'm sorry"

He rubbed her back once, then pulled away so he could see her "Where is she Mom?"

Margo ran a hand through her hair, sighing "Umm, a doctor came in and took her down the hallway, and oh Mark, Mark was there too, but I don't know where the took her, Claire's with her now" She mumbled out all in one big breath

Jack nodded in thanks, and took off down the hallway, once he got to the point where the rooms starting to come in focus, he stopped the first nurse or doctor, he wasn't sure what she was, but she was the first person to walk by him "Have you seen anywhere?"

The women looked nervous but nodded "He went in there" she said, pointing to the second door down on his left

He opened the door quickly, seeing Claire sitting in the chair, and Mark checking out Kate, the other doctor doing something to check the baby, it was all kind of a blur, the only thing that was in focus was Kate, and she was laying there, still, her eyes were closed and her skin was pale. He felt his eyes water up at seeing her so broken, but he shook it off when he heard a voice, it was Mark asking him where he was, he didnt answer

"What's wrong with her Mark?" He asked, never taking his eyes off Kate

His friend looked over at him, walking to him "Let's go talk outside, man"

They walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind them "Her heart rate is increasingly at a very fast pace, they think that the baby could be causing it"

Jack closed his eyes for a second "You're saying that the baby is increasing her heart rate, enough to do what?, give her a heart attack?"

nodded slowly "Yes"

Jack took a step back, breathing heavily and running his hand over his head "What do you mean, she's 31 years old, she can't be having a heart attack" He said, trying to make it make sense in his head

Mark just reached forward putting an hand on his friends shoulder, squeezing lightly "I'm sorry Jack"

Jack let out a heavy breath "What do we do?"

"We need to take out the baby" He answered simple and short

Jack's eyes were watery and his breathing was hitched "What are you talking about, the baby is only 23 weeks along"

The doctor nodded "In a week it will be viable, and the chances of it surviving go up, but only a little and Kate may not have a week"

"You're saying if we don't do this now, she's going to die?" He asked, unsure if he wanted a answer

Mark nodded again, "What are her chances, the baby I mean" Jack asked

"At 23 weeks, the numbers say there's a 10 to 35 percent chance of survival" He answered, and saw the first tear run down his friends cheek

Jack didn't say anything, so Mark spoke again "Listen, think about it, if Kate wakes up again, talk with her, but I'm going to come back in a hour and I need you to have an answer for me"

...Alright, there it is, let me know what you guys think, and I'll try to have a update by, hmm Tuesday, ok? :)


	25. On Your Own

**Author's note:**Hey guys, i've been studying all day and needed a break so i wrote the update a little earlier, i like to think that this chapter is a pretty intense one. The next chapter will most likely be the last one, i hope you guys like it :)

_*while we are free to choose our own actions, we are not free to choose the consequences of those actions;_ - Stephen R. Covey

Jack Shephard was not a man who lost his cool, he considered himself to be steady and ready for anything. That quality might have something to do with why he is one of the best young surgeons in the LA area. When a patient came in, he stayed calm, no matter what the injuries were, not matter what they shot at him and he worked so that they he could get the best possible outcome. Onlyonce in his life as a doctor had he been scared, that time was when he was in his residency, and he tore the derail sack of a young girl and he couldn't fix it, his father stepped in then, telling him to close his eyes, and count to five, he was skeptical at first, not seeing how this would do anything but waste time, but once he did, let the fear in for 5 seconds, he felt okay and the patient was fine. He didn't talk about this story a lot and only one other person besides the people in the room knew what happen, Kate.

He was trying to soothe her when he'd told her the story and it seemed to have worked. For the past 10 minutes Jack wandered around the hospital, not really headed anywhere, just trying desperately to close his eyes and count to five, again. He needed to not be afraid right now, he needed to make the right choice, he couldn't be wrong about this. Only this time, this day, the only time that it really mattered, after he closed his eyes and counted, he was still completely terrified. This time the fear was too strong, too personal.

He walked through a crowded waiting area, all these people waiting for a doctor to come out and tell them weather or not, the people they care about are ever going to go home again. As he looked at their faces, they seemed calm, some were crying but still calm, and he wondered how they did this, he wondered how he had done this for so long, walking out and taking people's whole lives, he never thought much about it, it was just his job. Except now he was on the other side, he wasn't the one in control, he was the one waiting for some stranger to take away his world.

He walked across the room, finally reaching a wall that divided that room and another hallway. He leaned his head against it, his back to the hallway and he closed his eyes, this time when they shut, he felt tears running down his cheeks, he didn't try to stop them, he simply let them run down. They got heavy enough, that when he opened his eyes again, they were glossy and his vision was clouded, he kept his forehead against the wall, then he felt someone tap his shoulder lightly

He barely turned his head, and saw it was his father, still in his operating scrubs. Christian gave his son a sideways smile, then cleared his throat "The rest of the surgery went well, the man should be fine" He said, not knowing what else to say

Jack just nodded, keeping back another sob making his eyes fill with water "What do I do, Dad?" He choked out

Christian squeezed his shoulder, "Jack, I can't answer that for you"

"This isn't fair, I finally had everything I wanted, everything I need, and it was right there Dad, I could see it" He sobbed out, his words barely understandable through his hitched voice "And now I can't have it anymore, just like that"

The man didn't know what to say, he wasn't sure there were any words that could make this even a little easier on his son, he'd never seen him so broken and itbroke his own heart that there wasn't anyway he could make this go away, so he just wrapped his arms tightly around Jack, feeling him shake against his shoulder, and his blue scrub shirt get wet with tears. They stayed like that until his father pulled away, keeping him at arms length

"I know that this is hard, and I wish I could help you, but this has to be your choice and you need to make it on your own" He said, receiving a slow nod from his son.

* * *

Jack sat alone in the waiting room, his mother or Claire would come and check on him every so often, he never needed anything, he never needed to talk. He just sat there, until Mark came rushing in the room, flushed like he'd ran all the way there

"Jack, come on follow me, quick" He said, while taking a deep breath

Jack jumped out of his seat, walking over to his friend "What happen?"

"Kate's awake" He answered, and that was enough for Jack to go racing down the hall to her door, opening it quickly and stepping inside

She was sitting up now, but she was still very pale and looked like she hadn't slept in years, Jack smiled slightly because she still looked beautiful in his eyes. He walked over to her, reaching for her hand, sliding his fingers in hers "Hey" He whispered

She let a little smile reach her lips "What's going on Jack?"

He smiled back sadly at her, and took a seat next to her, never letting go of her hand "My mom brought you in, you passed out at our house"

She was suddenly alert "What about the baby, is the baby okay?"

He swallowed hard "Kate, you passed out because when you were brought in, your heart-rate was dramatically high, too high" He explained, watching her reaction and continued "They think that the cause of that, is the baby" He added that part softly

Her green eyes were filled with tears now, and she spoke in a jagged tone "What does that mean, Jack?"

"It means that they asked me to make a choice, you or the baby" He said, feeling himself get choked up once again

Kate let the tears fall "The baby isn't to term, it's way too early"

He looked down at their hands and squeezed "You're 23 weeks along, the babies chances aren't what we'd like, but Kate if we don't..." He trailed off

"What are the chances, Jack?" She asked, ignoring what he was going to say about her, she didn't matter right now

"10 to 35 percent chance" He mumbled out, and saw her eyes widen at the number, but he knew he had to be honest with her

"I want to wait Jack, I won't let them take the baby out yet" She told him, her voice stern

Jack shook his head "Kate, the risk is too high, for you to keep the baby any longer"

At that moment Mark came in, he apologized for interrupting "I was just wondering if maybe, you two had any questions?"

Kate sat up, looking away from Jack "Can I refuse this, can I say I want to try and do another week?"

Mark nodded, despite Jack's glare, and Kate spoke again "The chances of the baby being okay, go up the longer I can hold on right?"

Again, he nodded "The survival rate goes up about 3 percent for every extra day that your baby stays in the womb"

She gave him a small nod, and Jack chimed in "Kate, you don't have to do this, the risk is just too high"

She squeezed his hand harder, and looked at him with teary eyes "Yes, I do" She said "I know how I felt when I first got pregnant, but then I moved in with you, and we talked about this baby all the time, and we heard the heartbeat and we felt it kick, and you _changed_ my mind, you made me love this baby, _our _baby"

"So I've made my decision and I'm going to wait this out, as long as it takes" She finished

**End note: **Well hit the button and tell me what you think for the second last time, the last chapter will be up, probably before Wednesday. : )


	26. And They Lived

**authors note:**thank you for the reviews, and for sticking with me through this story, i appreciate it : ), here's the final chapter, i hope you guys enjoy it. I used a little part from grey's anatomy because writing this chapter, my mind kept drifting back there. lol

_-every man is afraid of something, that's how you know his in love, when his afraid to lose you._

She did it, she made it 92 more hours, almost 4 days. The baby got bigger during those hours and the chances for survival got greater, Kate on the other hand got weaker. Jack sat in the chair by her bed, holding her hand the whole time, the only time he moved was when she asked him for something, secretly she'd sometimes ask on purpose to take his mind off the baby and put it on something else, something unimportant, like orange juice. The doctors came in every hour on the hour, and Mark followed them, they always keep a neutral expression, the nurses on the other hand, would wear sympathetic faces, Kate was fine until they came in, then she was scared, but as if feeling her fear, Jack would squeeze her hand at those times and then she was okay.

On hour 93, she finally managed to convince Jack to close his eyes, he was out as soon as he did. His back arched over from the chair to the bed, while his head layed beside their intangled hands, she couldn't help but smile at the calming expression he wore, only when he was asleep, she ran her fingers through the dark hair on his head, and then the door opened, it was Mark

"How'd you manage to get him to sleep?" He asked, nodding over to his sleeping friend

Kate shrugged with a smile "It wasn't an easy task"

The pair laughed, and it woke Jack up right away, lifting his head off the bed, and stretching out his back, once he was fully aware, Mark looked back at Kate

"How are feeling Kate, anything we should be worried about?" He asked, his tone professional

She shook her head, a tried her best to give him a weak smile "I feel the same as the last time you asked me that, Dr. Silverman"

From his spot on the chair, Jack couldn't help but smile, remembering his first encounter with Kate, Mark laughed too "I'm just going to do a quick check up, okay make sure everything ticking the way it should"

He received a nod from Kate, and walked over to the other side of the bed, starting his check-up. About halfway through his routine, Kate's eyes closed and the monitor began to beep.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack asked, his eyes glancing at the monitor, and his heart starting to beat fast,

Mark shook his head, swearing under his breath "Her heartbeat is going up, dammit"

Jack's eyes were fixed on this monitor, these numbers that kept getting higher and higher, he looked back at Kate, then at Mark "Mark, do something, now!" He yelled

In a rushed scramble another doctor and a nurse came rushing into the room, pushing Jack into the corner of the room by the door. The other doctor looked at the number on the monitor and then at Jack quickly, "Get him out of here" He ordered

A nurse came to guide Jack outside, but he wasn't having any of that, she tried again and finally Mark came in, and pushed him outside the room, closing the door behind them

"What the hell is going on in there Mark, you have to let me back in there" He shouted, but Mark kept his hands firmly planted on Jack's shoulders, holding him back

Mark shook his head "You need to cool off, Man take a breath alright" He said, Jack turned away, running a hand through his hair

When he turned back, his breath was hitched and his chest was still puffing, his brown eyes were filled with water again "What's happening to her?"

Taking a breath, "The same thing that happen when she was brought in, the baby's heartbeat is conflicting with her own, causing hers to rise, and rise fast" He explained

"So what do we do now?" He asked

"Now, you need to make the decision, do you want us to take the baby out?" He asked

Jack's breath got caught in his throat, and he swallowed down a lump "What should I do, Mark?", he asked, his eyes pleading with him, to just tell him what the right answer was

"I can't tell you that Jack, I can tell you that because of the extra hours, the baby's chances went up about 11 percent, giving it about a 20- 45 percent chance of surviving, but if we don't take the baby right now Jack, Kate doesn't have those numbers, her's are far worse" He told him, patting his back, as he turned around and let tears fall down his face

Jack looked over at him "What would you do, Mark?"

The doctor gave a typical professional answer, and Jack shook his head "I need you to not answer me like a doctor right now, I need you to answer me like, I'm the guy who took a punch for you when we were kids, and I need you to tell me what I should do, If that was Marie in there, what would you do?"

The doctor gave him a sad smile "I don't know" He answered honestly

Jack sighed "How am I supposed to choose, there's one that I'm just getting to know, and she's this incredible person, and the other one, I haven't even meet yet but I already love her, so much"

They heard people scrambling in the room, and Mark looked at Jack, his hand on his shoulder "Jack, I need you to give me an answer"

He looked down at the ground, swallowing a sob, as he thought about his options, and he lost in both of them, with tears falling down his cheeks, he said "Save her life, Save Kate"

* * *

The moment he answered, they were pushing Kate down the hallway, through the doors to the operating room. They had been in there for awhile, and Jack sat in the waiting room with his mother, Claire had went home because she had Aaron but told him to call if he needed anything. It felt like he'd been sitting there for an eternity waiting for someone to come out and tell what was going on, sitting there he realized that it was so much easier to be the one in the operating room, the one with a life in your hands, that was easy compared to this, to waiting, to not knowing. It was hell.

Mark finally came out, his expression wasn't giving anything away on how the procedure went, he came over to them and took off his mask

"What happen?" Jack stood and asked, before the doctor could say anything

"It went well, we managed to control Kate's heart rate after we took out the baby, she's sleeping now but she's stable and we belive she'll be just fine" He started

Jack swallowed hard "What about the baby?"

Mark gulped "She's small, Jack"He stated simply, following it up with an explanation " She isn't quite 2 pounds, and at the stage she was in, her organs were still maturing, her lungs would have started to produce Surfactant, which helps to prevent her lungs from sticking together, helping her breath after the birth, we are monitoring her very closely because we still aren't sure she produced enough to do the job"

Jack blow out a big breath, his hands on his hips, eyes watery, and Mark put a hand on his shoulder "But she is alive, she's a fighter, man"

Jack, nodded slowly, and small smile coming to play on his lips, "Can I see her?"

Mark nodded, he couldn't go into the room yet, but she was in front of the window, Jack took a breath, looking at the name card on the front, reading baby Shephard, and for the first time he realized they never picked out a name for her, Kate still didn't know it was a her, looking above it, he saw her, she was so tiny, not much bigger than a toy doll, he felt his chest tighten at all the wires and machines that were attached to her, he felt someone come up behind him and touch his arm, turning around he saw his father

"Is that her?" He asked, poiting to the baby, and he recieved just a nod from Jack

Christian, squeezed his sons arm "She is beautiful, Jack"

He nodded again, and choked out "She's small"

He gave Jack a sad smile "You did good today, Jack"

Shaking his head, and biting down on his bottom lip "I don't feel good,right now" He said

"Maybe, not yet, but I have faith that, that little girl is going to be just fine, I'm proud of you Jack" He told him, and Jack gave him a half hearted smile, looking back at his little girl

* * *

He stood watching the baby for a while, he wasn't really sure how long. Then he went up to Kate's room, figuring she'd probably be awake now and wondering where he is. He opened the door, and she was laying on her back, her eyes were only half open and she looked a little dazed, then she looked over at him, and was suddenly awake again

"Jack" She mumbled out

He smiled at her, trying his best to give her a real smile, and walked over to sit on the end of the bed, his eyes were filled with tears again, and she reached for his hand the moment he sat down "How you feeling?" He asked, almost in a whisper

Kate just smiled, and in a jagged voice said "Why did you tell them to take the baby out Jack?"

"To save your life" He answered, he knew she'd want to have this conversation, but he didnt expect it so soon

She was crying now "Why?, you wanted this baby so much, and i've done nothing but try to get rid of it, why would you choose that?"

He thought it over, bringing his hand to her face, to wipe away the tears that were falling from her green eyes, he smiled at her "Because I love you"

She smiled back at him, and turned her cheek more towards him warm palm, she laughed a little as she spoke "I tried not too, but I love you too"

Laughing he brought his head down to her, and kissed her lips softly, he felt tears on his lips and he wasn't sure if they were hers or his, but it didnt matter. They pulled away, hands locked together, their foreheads still touching.

The baby had to stay in the hospital, in the NICU for a little over 9 weeks after she was born. The nurses first task was to get her to eat, which wasn't exactly easy, they were trying everything, but she was stubborn like Jack, and a fighter just like Kate, but eventually they got her to lache the bottle and eat something without any machines. The doctor's learned that she produced enough Surfactant to seperate her lungs, but it took about a week and a half before they were confident enough to take her off the breathing machine, but when they did, her little chest floated up and back down, then up again all by it self. A few days later they got to take her home.

They named her Hannah Shephard.

Hannah meant, blessed by God, and that's exactly what she was.

**end note: **It's over, and i'm a little sad about it, but you can all breath now because I didn't let anyone die this time, ; ) I really did enjoy writing this story and I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. I don't think i'll write anymore stories, just because I have to let go of lost, because it's making me crazy. lol. Anyways for the final time, let me know what you think, hit the button ; ).


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